Long Live The Queen
by Light Seeker 001
Summary: The Queen of the Shadowkhan was right to add an extra tattoo just in case. And she was right to not trust Shendu with her Demon Archive. Now she must begin her empire slowly...and rather impatiently. Copyright: Jackie Chan and Warner Bros.
1. Chapter 1

_Recap: After Jade Chan became Queen of the Shadowkhan after putting on an evil tattoo, she took over Section 13 and turned it into her palace. She tried to read the Demon Archive Jackie Chan found, but found she could not read ancient Chinese. So she sent her Shadowkhan to bring Valmont/Shendu to help translate for her. However, Shendu betrayed her and Jade was freed by Tohru from the evil tattoo that gave her her dark powers. However, with one last command, Jade ordered the Shadowkhan to destroy the book before Shendu could get away._

(!)

"Very important rule of magic," Uncle Chan said appearing behind the Queen of the Shadowkhan's throne. "Always make extra. Just in case."

Jade groaned as she stood up. "I have a real feeling I did something really bad."

"If you mean getting a tattoo when I told you not to, yes you did," said Jackie. "But if you mean destroying the Demon Archive..." Uncle Chan nodded in approval. They can find another way to defeat Shendu and his demonic siblings. "We can live with that," Jackie finished.

(!)

When Jade returned to her room, she changed back to her normal clothes and sat on the bed, playing her video game.

"Jade," Tohru called out. "Uncle says dinner is almost ready. He also says, one more thing!" THWACK! "Ow!"

"You don't tell what Uncle is saying! One more thing! Burn that queen costume! It looks like a gaudy floral print."

"Took care of that!" Jade called out.

She smirked and her brown eyes turned red. "'Very important rule of magic,'" Jade quoted Uncle with an evil echo in her voice. "'Always make extra. Just in case.' Right, Uncle?" She patted the spot on her back where another tattoo was. She had the Shadowkhan place it there prior to her very short takeover of Section 13. "I've come too far to have my empire taken all away. Tch. Too bad I cannot use my powers for now. Bummer, I know," she said to no one in particular. "But I can't let Uncle, Jackie and Tohru figure out I'm still Queen. And that includes Shendu. If he were to find out I still have control over the Shadowkhan and am simply letting them obey him for now, he will find out I still have the Demon Archive."

With those words, Jade pulled out a huge stack of pages written in ancient Chinese from under the bed. "I knew Shendu would betray me. Which is why all Shendu had when I ordered the Demon Archive to be destroyed was just blank papers." She frowned in frustration. "Tch. Now comes the most difficult part." She walked to her computer and downloaded a translator program. "Scanning and translating these stupid pages from ancient Chinese to English which could take _WHO KNOWS_ **_HOW LONG_**!"

"Jade," Jackie called out. "What could take several hours?"

"Oh!" Jade said, switching back to her 'normal' self's voice. "Er...This stupid level! It's too difficult!"

"Well, maybe you'll beat it after dinner!"

"Yeah, sure, okay!" Jade breathed a sigh of relief. "Too close. Fine. I'll continue playing along. Stop the demons from coming out, closing all the demon portals, blah, blah, blah..." She smiled again. "And once the competition is out of the way, I shall take this world for my own. No Shendu, no demons. Only me." Her red eyes began to glow. "Long live the Queen. Queen of the Shadowkhan."


	2. Chapter 2

Late at night, Jade paced impatiently as she waited for the computer to finish translating the pages of the book. "This is the only part of my day that I hate. And to make matters worse, there are no sightings of Shendu yet!" She sighed. "I might as well just read the first couple of pages I got. Let's see. 'Shadow Teleportation. Imagine the spot you want to go and the shadows will take you there.' Okay. Any spot in San Francisco will do. Hmm. Alcatraz is closed for the day..." She placed her hand on her shadow and concentrated on Alcatraz's location. Almost instantly her hand slid through the shadow, followed by the rest of the body.

(!)

The next thing she knew she was falling! "Bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day!" CRASH! The Queen crashed on top of the roof of Alcatraz. Groaning, she slowly sat up and rubbed her head. "Ow. Duh. I said Alcatraz. I didn't specify where. Tch." She stood up and rubbed her sore buttocks. "At least I know not to do that again." She placed a hand on her shadow. "Uncle's Rare Finds. Uh...Jade Chan's room."

(!)

"WAH! Ow!" She landed on the floor of her room. Hard. "Ow. Well, I'm back. That's for sure." She rubbed her buttocks and groaned. Okay. Now to read the next page. First, she'll have to find a place to train her new moves. And she knew just the spot. But first... "Might as well call it a night. I do have a science project to work on, anyway. Tch. Stupid school."

(!)

At Section 13, there was a loud explosion that rocked the whole base. Jackie came rushing into the room she was in to find her covered in ashes. "Maybe a working volcano _is_ too advanced for me."

Captain Black entered the room. "Jackie?" He saw Jade's disheveled state.

"Science project," she said, innocently.

Black gestured Jackie to come outside. "Valmont and his cronies have been spotted in Florida near Cape Canaveral."

"I'm on my way," Jackie said. But before he could take another step, Jade ran in front of him. "Hey! Going on a mission, Jackie?"

"No! Not a mission, it's a...a conference! On Feng Shui."

"In Minnesota," said Black.

Jade frowned at the two men. "Do you take me for an idiot?" Jack and Black were taken aback. "Minnesota? Really? If there's anyone who's the expert at excuses, it's me. How do you think I got you into that Hollywood deal while we were tracking the Thunder Demon?"

"Well, it did work for a while..." Jack tried to say. "But regardless, you're staying here. You have a school project to finish."

"Maybe I could come up with one when I'm in Florida?"

"The answer is no."

As Jackie left for Florida, Jade returned to the room she was in and began to feel angry. "Time to blow some steam," she said. "But before I do, I need a lucky rabbit."

(!)

In the junkyard, Jade read the page she finished translating. "'Dark Bomb. Focus all your rage to explosive proportions. Then let it all out.'" The Queen thought of all the times that made her angry. Jackie not letting her go on adventures. Her schoolmates not believing her stories. Her teacher getting her in trouble. Then she let out a loud roar of rage and punched a pile of garbage. It exploded in a flash of purple light, sending the Queen flying onto her back. "Whoa." She looked at the page again. "Huh. 'Plant your feet firmly before using this technique.' Tch. Could have told me that earlier!"

Jade dusted herself off and slowly got up. "Well, that was fun. But now, I've got an uncle to catch." She pulled the Rabbit Talisman out of her pocket. "I have a hunch where in Cape Canaveral Shendu will be." Jade ran in the direction of the east coast, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

(!)

With the help of the Rabbit Talisman, Jade managed to get to the space shuttle's cabin long before the launch began and long before the crew, the Dark Hand or even Jackie could reach it. "Hmm. Might as well put on one of the suits." Jade found one of the orange space suits and helmet and put one of them on. She frowned when she saw that the sleeves were too long for her. "Tch."

She suddenly heard a noise and ducked into the closet she found the space suits and kept quiet. She heard footsteps walk by. Carefully, she opened the door a crack and saw a small astronaut in a space suit that matched its size walk by. "Wow," she said. "They're recruiting young."

She followed the kid into the cockpit and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, I don't think they allow kids in space." The astronaut turned around. Jade was surprised. It wasn't a kid. It was a chimpanzee! According to his name tag, his name was Cosmo. "Are you in astronaut training?" The chimp didn't respond. He just prepped himself up for launch. "Well, if you need me, give me a hoot." Jade left the chimp to do its work. Deciding to wait until Jackie came, Jade found herself a storage room to stay in while she read the pages of the book she translated.

"Let's see. 'Shadow Manipulation'. Cool."

(!)

After a few hours of training, she began to feel a low rumbling and a computerized voice say, "60 seconds to blast off."

"Uh oh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea!"

Quickly, Jade grabbed onto a table that was bolted down, held on tight and waited for the inevitable. "T minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1."

The rumbling grew louder and more violent as she knew that she was heading straight for outer space. It got worse when she started hovering in zero gravity. "I think I'm going to be sick!"

Suddenly, the air lock's door opened and to Jade's surprise, in came Jackie, not wearing a space suit! Either he was brave, stupid or both! Jade, still having difficulty to walk in the baggy space suit, walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, startling him. "Hi, Jackie."

"Jade!"

"Check out the monkey suit. Literally," she said, gesturing her space suit.

"Speed Talisman. Fastest way to get to 'Minnesota'. And I got here hours before you did."

Jackie face palmed. "We'll talk about this later."

"Besides, I got an idea for my school project while I'm out here! Space!"

(!)

Several minutes later, the shuttle prepared to dock at the space station. Jade pointed out the window of the shuttle. "The spinning of the station creates a gravitational pull. See? I am so gonna get an A on my project!"

Silently, the Chans followed the Dark Hand (and the chimp, who decided to tag along). "Secure the station," Shendu/Valmont ordered his goons.

"Piece of cake," said Finn. "We're the only ones here."

Not, thought Jade.

"Let us unsure utmost privacy," Shendu/Valmont said. And with the push of a button, he cut off all communications to mission control. "Now we wait for this station to intercept with the location of the portal belonging to Tso Lan the Moon Demon."

"And open her up with this key," Chow said, holding the Pan Ku Box.

Jade and Jackie heard everything from their hiding spot. "I hope Uncle's on his way with that chi spell," the former said.

Maybe not just yet, Jade thought. I want to see what I'm up against.

"We are mere minutes from the portal location," Shendu/Valmont reported. "Ready the Pan Ku Box."

The chimp reached for the Box, but Chow kept it away from him. Using this as a distraction, Jackie covered a hand over his mouth and dragged him off, knocking off his sunglasses in the process.

(!)

This is a great idea for once, Jade thought as she pressed the button that opened the air lock. Jackie tossed the Pan Ku Box in, said "Bye bye!" and pressed the eject button. At that moment, the Dark Hand arrived. "Whoa," said Ratso.

"Chan!" hissed Shendu/Valmont.

"Everybody's an astronaut," Finn muttered, shaking his head.

"Where is the Pan Ku Box?!" shouted the possessed Valmont.

"Floating in space," Jade said. "Good luck getting it now."

The Dark Hand looked out the window. Indeed, the Pan Ku Box was floating away from the station. "Hak Foo, retrieve it," Shendu/Valmont ordered. "And you simpletons," he said to Finn and Ratso. "Get Chan!"

"Jackie!" Jade shouted, holding up the Rabbit Talisman.

But Jackie was already leaving with Finn and Ratso on his tail. "You use it!" Jade heard a hissing and saw Shendu/Valmont rushing toward her. She smiled. "Time to put that new move I learned from the Demon Archive to use," she said to herself. First, she used the Rabbit Talisman to give herself super speed and rapidly kicked Chow down just as he got back up. Then she turned her attention to Shendu/Valmont. She ran up to him and stopped just a few inches from him and pointed a finger at him.

"What is this?" the demon dragon said.

Jade smirked. "Bang." A beam of dark energy shot out of her finger and blasted Shendu/Valmont. Unfortunately, the recoil sent her flying into a wall and knocked her out cold. To make matters worse, she dropped the Rabbit Talisman.

(!)

When Jade came to, she was sitting on a chair with her sleeves tying her in place. She struggled to get out, but she was stuck good. To make matters worse, they were close to the demon portal's location. "Where is Hak Foo?" shouted Shendu/Valmont. "The portal approaches!"

"No box, no demon," Jade said with a smirk. "Check please!"

At that moment, the air lock opened and someone they did not expect came in: the space chimp with the box! "Good monkey," Chow said, easing his way toward him. "Nice monkey."

"You stupid chimp," shouted Jade. "Get out of here, Cosmo!"

At that moment, Hak Foo came in and grabbed the box. Cosmo held on, even after the big man shouted, "Give it up! Give it up!" Suddenly, a green laser shot out of the box and produced a door. Jade gulped. "Houston, we have a problem." Out of the door came a demon with grayish blue skin, red eyes, long purple hair, four arms and a tongue that was too long to fit in his mouth. He wore a red robe with a purple sash and instead of walking, he hovered a foot off the ground. This was Tso Lan the Moon Demon.

"Get the box," Shendu/Valmont ordered Chow. "Tso Lan," he said to his brother. "So good to see you."

"Save the pleasantries, Shendu," the Moon Demon said in a deep, monotonous voice. "I'm only interested in seizing control of the moon's gravity so that I may pull the ball from its orbit."

"But that will wreck all of Earth's ecosystems!"

"How do you know?" Ratso asked Jade.

"I watch the science network." Ratso blew a raspberry at her.

"The child is correct," Tso Lan confirmed. "And only then will Earth's landscape be to my liking."

"Whoa," Ratso said. "He wants to kibosh the planet!"

"And you made us let him out?!" exclaimed Finn to Shendu/Valmont.

"Just be glad you are up here."

Suddenly, Jackie came crashing into the air lock door. Shendu/Valmont smiled. "You have joined us just in time to see the nemesis of all demon sorcerers destroyed."

Tso Lan looked down at Cosmo. " _This_ is Jackie Chan?"

"No. That is." He pointed out the window.

At that moment, Jade broke free from her bounds and opened the air lock. Jackie, still wearing the jet pack he wore to get the box outside the station, came flying in, crashing into the Dark Hand and sending them all into the garbage pod. "Time to put out the trash," Jade said, pressing the eject button.

But Jackie and Jade weren't out of the woods yet. "It appears the pleasure of destroying you shall be mine alone," Tso Lan said. He reached for them, but Jackie grabbed Jade and ran down the hall. "A good chi spell would be nice right now," Jackie said.

Or a good demon spell, Jade thought angrily. But I can't do one in front of you.

(!)

Jackie and Jade hid under a grating when they got out of the Moon Demon's sight and held their breaths as he hovered past them. "Hiding only delays the inevitable," he said.

Jade saw something at her feet. The Rabbit Talisman! So this is where she dropped it! She picked it up. "Hey, Lucky Rabbit!"

At that moment, Cosmo found them and looked down at them with a happy smile. He made a happy grunt as he waved at them. All that noise will attract Tso Lan! "Shh," hushed Jade.

"Shoo," whispered Jackie, waving him to leave. "Go away!"

But Cosmo imitated their waving and continued to grunt happily. But he stopped when he felt a presence. Tso Lan was right above him. "Behold," he said. "My mastery of gravity!" The Moon Demon lifted all four arms and in an instant, everything that wasn't nailed down began to float in the air. Including the Chans. Tso Lan dented his fingers together as he smirked. "And for you, things look very grave."

Jade noticed an O2 tank floating by. She handed Jackie the Rabbit Talisman. "Jackie," she whispered. "Fire the torpedo."

Jackie gave her a wink, understanding. "Full speed ahead," Jade shouted. The moment Jackie placed the talisman on the tank, it flew at bullet speed and rammed the Moon Demon out the air lock door. Thankfully, the tank stopped half way through, so the danger of them losing air was nil. "Out of the park!" Jade cheered.

But when the Chans looked out the window, they saw that they made the situation worse. Tso Lan was floating toward his namesake and being an immortal demon, he did not need to breathe in space. "He's floating down moon river."

"This is very bad," Jackie said. "We need Uncle's chi spell!"

"You think?" Jade said. "One problem. We're in space! How are we going to get a chi spell?"

Suddenly, a flower floated by. Jackie grabbed it. "A lotus pod?"

"Isn't that-?"

"The symbol of the Immortal who originally defeated Tso Lan the Moon Demon," finished Tohru. He was garbed in a space suit and was floating toward them.

"But where's Uncle?" asked Jackie.

"TOHRU!" shouted Uncle over Tohru's communicator. "DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HAVE NOSEHAIR OF POSSUM?!"

Jade looked out the window again and noticed that the dark side of the moon was growing even darker. "Tall, dark and creepy is doing his moon makeover thing," she warned.

"Tohru, the spell," Jackie said.

"A spell cannot work if a demon is out of reach of an Immortal's symbol!" shouted Uncle, making Tohru wince.

"How can we move the Immortal's symbol into range fast?" asked Jackie.

"Duh," Jade said, pointing her thumb to the O2 tank. Or rather, the Rabbit Talisman that was on it.

(!)

Using the shuttle Tohru used to go to the station, the J Team flew as fast as a rabbit toward the moon. And crash landed on it. "Bad day, bad day, bad daaaayyyy!" screamed Jackie. Finally, the shuttle stopped.

Jackie walked out the door, lotus pod at the ready. He stopped. "Jade, it's not safe."

"So?" Jade was picked up by Tohru. "Oh, it's never safe."

"I require assistance."

"Aw. I thought that's why you brought Cosmo."

(!)

As soon as Jackie found the Moon Demon, he ran into a problem. "Where's the lotus pod?"

"You put it in your suit," Jade reminded him via communication.

Jackie then found the flower...floating in his helmet. "Found it. Tohru, the incantation!"

"Ai-yah!" shouted Uncle down on Earth. "That is my job!"

Suddenly, Tso Lan grabbed him and lifted him up. "Uncle, hurry!"

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."

Tso Lan heard the voice on Jackie's communicator. "An incantation?" Then he saw the Immortal's symbol in Jackie's helmet. "The lotus pod!" But he quickly calmed himself realizing, "In order for it to hex me, you must remove your helmet. Which you cannot do."

Jackie kicked Tso Lan away from him and said, "Then let me air this out." He inhaled deeply, then disconnected his space suit's air tank. The lotus pod flew out the pipe and hit the Moon Demon in the chest. He quickly reconnected the pipe to his suit before he ran out of air.

Meanwhile, Tso Lan writhed as the dark magic on the moon retracted and returned to him. Then his portal opened up and began to suck him back in. "NOOOOOOOO!" It closed on him, silencing him for good.

"So long, Tso Lan," Jackie joked.

(!)

Jade watched the whole thing from the shuttle. It was a good thing Tso Lan the Moon Demon was gone. "I cannot become Queen of the World if its ecosystems are destroyed."

"Did you say something?" Tohru asked.

"Uh...I was saying my science project is going to rock! The topic? Space!"

"Oh. Good! You will get an A for sure."

"Definitely."

Cosmo the chimp gave her an uneasy look.


	3. Chapter 3

While everyone slept, Jade practiced her magic in the junkyard. It had been a few hours since they sealed Tso Lan the Moon Demon and the Queen realized ridding the competition might be more harder than she realized. The Moon Demon's gravitational magic would have been enough to crush all her magic spells. Not even the Demon Archive could save her for long. "Tch. If I am to become Queen of the World, I am going to have to ante up my training."

She took some recently translated pages from the book and read them over. They were just some descriptions of demons, ancient artifacts, evil curses, stupid "oooooohhhh, beware!" crud. Then she saw something that a new technique called Dark Blast. "'Strike your enemies at multiple directions.' Interesting."

Jade set up some practice dummies made from the scraps of cars and imagined them to be Valmont/Shendu, Ratso, Finn, Chow and Hak Foo. She let out a yell as she jumped in the air and spun around. Blasts of electricity shot out from her body and struck the targets, destroying them. When the attack was finished, she lowered herself to the ground. All of a sudden, she felt dizzy and fell to her hands and knees. "Whew. This must really take a lot of energy out of me. I'll have to be more careful."

The Queen decided to begin another spell that required less...energy. If only she could find one that was translated however. "I hate that program sometimes." Sometimes? How about all the time? It didn't help that she had school tomorrow, which means putting up with boring lessons and teasing kids. But then she had an idea. She had learned another new trick that didn't require so much energy and she decided school was the perfect place to test it out.

(!)

At school, Jade listened to Miss Hartman drone on about...honestly, Jade wasn't really paying attention. Instead, she was looking at the pages of her Demon Archive. "'Shadow manipulation'. Perfect time to try it out too," she whispered.

"Try what out?" she heard the irritating voice of her classmate, Drew.

"Oh, nothing," she said, putting her book in her backpack.

"Whacha reading?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing you might find interesting. Waaay too above your reading level."

"Ooh, so daring," he teased. "Almost as daring as those ninja stories of yours you make up." He laughed. Of course, he would not believe the stories of her, Jackie and Uncle's adventures. Jade was used to it by now. But she still wished he believed her sometimes. "Hey," he continued. "I noticed that the tattoo on your ankle is gone. Must have hurt a lot to get it removed." He laughed again.

Jade ignored him. She wanted to continue reading, but knowing the teacher, she will probably take it from her if she caught her.

"Jade?" she suddenly heard Miss Hartman say. She looked up and asked, "Yes?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh..."

"Probably not," Drew said. "Because she was too busy reading."

Squealer.

"Jade? Where is this book?" Miss Hartman asked.

Jade went, "Tch. I put it away. What did I do wrong?"

"This book is clearly a distraction. Otherwise, you would have paid more attention. Now, keep it in your backpack or I'll confiscate it the next time I see it out."

Jade glared at Drew, who just smiled tauntingly. She will deal with him later, but first...

When the teacher returned to her desk, an odd thing happened. Instead of sitting in her chair, she found herself on her butt and feeling sore. Everybody laughed at Miss Hartman's misfortune. Everybody except Jade, who just smirked at her accomplishment.

When the bell rang, signaling class was over, everybody got up and started walking out the door. But when Drew was about to walk out, he felt something snag his foot. The next thing he knew, he was lying flat on his face. The loud crunch from his nose indicated it was broken. As he was sent to the nurse's office, crying and bleeding, no one noticed the slithering tendril return to Jade's shadow.

(!)

From that moment on, strange things began to happen at the school. Students began tripping on invisible objects, desks began to move by themselves, doors slammed in people's faces without anyone being seen, and people suffering from the agony of wedgies and being hung by their underwear. It got so bad that everyone started to believe the school was haunted.

And nobody suspected Jade Chan was behind any of the attacks.

(!)

When she got back home from school, Jade was ecstatic. She had mastered a new power, and best of all, she had used it to terrorize one of the things she hated. Not as much as she hated demons, but she still didn't like it. School. She didn't needed to be educated at that worn down building taking the orders of an older woman who had it out for her. No, thanks to her Demon Archive, she was learning new and wondrous things. Still, she cursed herself for being too careless and bringing the book with her to school. From now on, she would not bring it with her on school days; it would stay in her room under the floorboard beneath her bed. Still, that didn't mean it would stop her from pulling more pranks on the school with her newfound shadow power.


	4. Chapter 4

It was late at night when Jade had finished translating the next pages of her Demon Archive. Aside from learning a few fighting techniques, she now learned a defense technique. Using the shadows of herself and others, she can now form a solid barrier. With Jackie on a trip to find some ancient armor, she decided now was the best time to learn new spells from the book. She turned the page and was about to learn a new technique when...

"WHO IS READING LATE AT NIGHT?! YOU ARE FLIPPING PAGES TOO LOUD!"

Jade quickly hid the book under the floor board and dove into bed. She growled in frustration. Uncle had not slept in five days and quite frankly, it was killing her and Tohru as much as it would kill anyone who doesn't sleep in nearly a week. She decided it was probably best to turn in for now when...

"JACKIE! YOU ARE TOO LOUD!"

There was a yell of surprise and a loud crash. Jackie was home. "Uncle," he said, irritated. "You are the one who is yelling!"

Uncle gasped. "You dishonor the only known existing relic of the Eight Immortals!"

"You caused me to drop it!"

Uncle gasped again. " _You dishonor your uncle!_ "

Jade came down the stairs, bags under her eyes. "Hey Jackie..." She saw a blue and gold suit of armor at the bottom of the stairs, but honestly, she was too tired to care.

"Jade, what are you doing up?"

"Old Yeller is keeping us all up. He hasn't slept in days."

"Tohru!" Uncle shouted. "Where is my tea?!" Tohru, dressed in pajamas and snoring like a T-Rex, poured the tea...and missed completely, spilling tea all over the floor. "AI-YAH!"

"Uncle," Jackie asked. "Why won't you sleep?"

"Because I have demons on the brain," he said gravely. "I lay down and all I hear is, 'Chi spell! Chi spell! Chi spell!'"

"Have you tried counting sheep?"

"Demons always eat them."

Enough was enough for Jackie. "Uh...well, thanks for watching Jade," he said, leaving the shop.

"Where are you going?" Uncle asked. "We must study the Immortals' Amor and discover what magic it holds!"

"Now?! It is 3:00 AM, Uncle. You should really try to sleep." Jackie's phone rang.

"HOW CAN I SLEEP WITH ALL THIS NOISE?!" Uncle left the room, giving everyone temporary peace and quiet.

Jade heard the phone conversation with Jackie and Captain Black. The Dark Hand had been spotted in Spain. Normally, she would beg Jackie to go on adventures, but at this moment, she just wanted to get far away from Uncle.

"Uncle," Jackie said. "I am off to Spain! I will call you for the chi spell once I find out which demon we are dealing with." He picked up a suit case and ran for the door when...

"Take the armor," Uncle said. "It could be of some use."

"But you have to discover what magic it holds!"

"HOW CAN I DO THAT IF YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU?!"

Jackie spluttered, stuttered, then groaned in defeat, taking the heavy, bulky armor with him. He must have felt silly carrying the darn thing.

(!)

While Jackie was on a plane to Spain, Jade stayed in her room, reading the book. "Jade! Whatever you are reading you are reading too loud!" Jade groaned. So she whispered. "Still too loud!" Jade growled. So she silently read. "I can hear your thoughts! STOP READING!"

Jade let out a roar of anger. Using her shadow powers, she teleported herself to the junkyard and blasted a pile of garbage with her dark bomb. "I can't learn the secrets of the Archive with that old fart shouting his heart out! There must be a way to unplug Uncle." Then she remembered one way. She smirked wickedly.

(!)

She prepared a "special" tea with various ingredients she read from Uncle's books and blew on it to cool it. "Call Uncle a lumberjack cause he's going to be sawing logs." Before she left with the tea, she took an object and hid it behind her back. She found Uncle in his study, reading nonstop.

"Jade! The books are laughing at me!"

"Not for long," she said with false sweetness. "Tea, dear uncle?"

"Yes. Hacha." She handed him the tea and he gave it a sip. "Bah! Jade, this tea tastes like it was brewed with beard of goat!" He gave it another sip. "One more thing! It is bitter! _One more thing!_ It is cold! **ONE MORE THING!** "

CLANG!

Uncle fell on his face and began snoring. Jade smirked as she held the frying pan. "Hacha."

(!)

With peace at last, Jade could focus on her book. "Okay, let's see. Making weapons. Awesome, but I'm no black smith." She turned another page. "Weaving garments from the impossible elements. Tch. What is this? A Demon Archive or an instruction book on how to make clothes?" She turned another page. "Transformation spell." She smiled. "Now we're talking. Let's see." She read the instructions, then, when she thought she fully understood them, she placed a mirror in front of her. "Let's start with something basic. Make me look like Uncle.

"Transform!"

A shadowy cocoon enveloped her. When it was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like Uncle but with exaggerated goat-like features.

"Eh, close enough. I'll work on it."

"Jade?" she heard Tohru call out from downstairs. She cancelled the spell and called out, "Yes, Tohru?"

"Have you seen Uncle? I haven't seen him for a while now. Or heard for that matter."

"Oh," Jade said, feeling darkly smug. "I put Uncle to sleep."

Tohru paused. "What?"

(!)

Jade led Tohru to where Uncle was. He was still sleeping on the ground with his butt in the air, right where she left him. "Why does he have a lump on his head?"

"He fell on his face. What did you think was going to happen?" She didn't want to tell Tohru she whacked him with a frying pan.

"So, how deep is his sleep?" Jade left the study, then returned with a cup of steaming water. She flipped Uncle over and, to Tohru's shock, poured the water on his lap. Uncle kept snoring. "Yay deep," she said.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Jade answered it. "Uncle's Rare Finds. May I help you?"

"Jade?"

"Jackie! How was Spain? Got a chance to wear that smelly old armor?"

"No. But I did get a chance to get bowlegged and saddle-sore. Let me speak with Uncle."

Jade looked at the snoring and wet old man. "Uncle's taking a nap."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Then Jackie realized, "Wait, no! Wake him up! I need Uncle here in Spain immediately!"

"Er...he...just went into the bathroom. You know how he gets when you interrupt his private time. I'll give him the message." Jackie told Jade everything. Earth Demon, chi spell, blah, blah, blah... "Okay. I'll tell him." She hung up.

"And how long does the Deep Sleep Spell last?" asked Tohru.

Tohru was right. Without the chi spell, Jade can't be rid of the competition. She ground pounded onto Uncle's stomach and slapped his face repeatedly. Nothing. She rang the biggest gong she could find. Nothing.

"We should have forced Uncle to count sheep," Tohru bemoaned.

Ding! went the lightbulb in Jade's head. "Sheep! Tohru, you are a genius!"

(!)

Jade explained her plan after borrowing the Sheep Talisman from Section 13. "I'll use the Sheep Talisman to astral project myself into Rip Van Uncle's dreams."

"Where you will tell him about the Earth Demon and he will offer you..." Tohru said, catching on.

"...a chi spell," finished Jade. She activated the talisman and suddenly began to feel sleepy. Then she felt herself leave her body and watched as Tohru gently grab her unconscious body and set it down on the couch. "Incoming," she called out, entering Uncle's brain.

(!)

What she saw was purely creepy and she'd seen demons in a bad mood. Nothing but sheep hopping fences in the sky. "Whoa, sheep again."

Then she found Uncle. He was reclining on a chair on a tropical island with a happy smile on his face. "Jade," he called out. "How happy I am to see you!"

Jade was dumbfounded. "You...are?" She yelped when the old man gave her a hug.

"You're my favorite person in the whole wide world!"

Jade forced him off and pointed at him. "You're not Uncle! What have you done with him?"

Uncle laughed giddily and patted her on the head. "Oh, ho ho, Jade. You are such a card." She watched, confused as he joined the sheep in their game of jumping the fence.

Her eyes turned red with anger. Literally. "ENOUGH!" She flew over to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Tell me how to seal Dai Gui the Earth Demon! NOW!"

Uncle chuckled. "Oh, Jade! Have you been eating too much sugar again? Because you are sooooooo cranky!"

"RRRRAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!"

"Okay, okay, Miss Cranky! Sheesh. First, you will need a symbol of the Immortal who originally defeated the Earth Demon."

"And that would be?"

"A flower!" Uncle yelled cheerfully. "Second, you'll need the key ingredient in every chi spell: hair of you."

Jade tugged at one of her locks. "Didn't know my hair was so potent. Third?"

"For that. I must do research." He yawned, put his hands behind his head and shut his eyes. "Right after my nap."

"You can take a dirt nap."

"Huh?" Jade dropped him and Uncle yelled all the way down and crashed into the beach, burying his head in sand. As the old man tried to get out, Jade laughed. "Finally. Some progress."

(!)

Jade returned to her body, still laughing. "What's so funny?" Tohru asked her.

"Oh, it's nothing. Anyway, grab Mr. Happy Pants. We're flying to Spain."

Tohru raised an eyebrow. "'Mr. Happy Pants'? But what if Uncle does not wake up in time to cast the chi spell?"

"We have a long time to catch up on our reeeaaaseeeaaarch!" she said, imitating Uncle. She grabbed some books from the study and headed for the car. "You carry Uncle. I'll call Captain Black to give us a ride to Spain."

Tohru looked down at the snoring old man.

(!)

After talking to Captain Black on the phone for Jackie's location, and after a free ride to Spain thanks to Section 13's jet, Jade, Uncle and Tohru were in Spain. They were in a taxi, on their friend's location. Jade shook the bag of ingredients. "We have all the chi ingredients," she said to Tohru. "We're golden."

"Good," he said. "Because it does not seem the Sleep Spell will wear off any time soon." The old man sleeping between them snored loudly.

"About that little screw up, T. Maybe Jackie doesn't need to know about Sleeping Beauty here."

"But how can Jackie _not_ notice?"

Suddenly, the taxi driver stopped. The road had been broken in two, as if by a giant jackhammer. "Earthquake?" questioned Tohru.

"Earth Demon," Jade corrected. She pointed out the window at Dai Gui. He was large with brown and green skin, a goat-like head and hoof feet. He was currently fighting Jackie, who was wearing the Amor of the Eight Immortals. While wearing the armor, Jackie could fly, punch Dai Gui and actually hurt him for a while and he was seemingly invincible against Dai Gui's attacks.

"Jackie!" Jade called out. She, Tohru and Uncle were out of the taxi (who by this point, drove far away from the action). Tohru waved the sleeping Uncle's arm to make it look like he was awake.

"Uncle!" Jackie summersaulted over Dai Guai and to the trio. "Uncle, you look well rested. Did you bring the chi spell?" Jade hid behind Tohru and imitated the old man's voice, "Yeeesss!"

"Where is it?" Tohru manipulated Uncle's hand to slap Jackie. "Ow!"

"Uh...Uncle needs preparation time," Jade said.

Jackie nodded. "I will keep Dai Gui busy." Jackie tackled Dai Gui to the ground and proceeded to wrestle him.

Meanwhile, Jade and Tohru set Uncle down and proceeded to make the spell. Jade pulled a daffodil out of the bag and gave it a sniff.

(!)

"I shall de-shell you of that armor," Dai Gui shouted, grabbing Jackie. "I bet that you are soft inside like a lichee nut!"

"Uncle, hurry," called out Jackie. To his confusion, Uncle was snoozing, not even flinching at the sound of battle. Jackie kicked the Earth Demon in the face and rushed up to the old man. He shook him, but he stayed asleep. "Uncle! This is no time for a nap!"

"No sweat, Jackie," Jade said. "We're just about ready to chi."

" _You_ made the chi spell?!"

"Talk later!"

Dai Gui was about to squish Jackie, but Jackie pushed him away.

"And now," Jade said, plucking a single strand of hair and wrapping it around the flower. "Hair of me. Hit it, T!"

Tohru nodded, then chanted, "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." A blast of energy shot out of the flower, striking the Earth Demon and...nothing. Instead, it sent a shockwave that sent Jackie flying off Dai Gui's back.

Jade looked at Tohru sheepishly. "Heh, heh. Aim still needs work."

"No portal has opened!" Tohru pointed out, worried. "The chi spell did not work!"

"B-but, I followed the instructions!"

Dai Gui picked up Jackie and pointed at Jade. "Dai Gui doesn't like flowers," he growled.

"Oh, no!"

At that moment, Uncle awoke and yawned. "Good morning, Jade." He suddenly heard Dai Gui roar. "AIYAH!" Jade blasted the Earth Demon in the chest. Again, nothing happened.

"Uncle, we have the ingredients. What are we doing wrong?"

"I see no hair of ewe," Uncle pointed out.

Jade tugged a strand of hair. "If I keep plucking, I'm gonna get a bald spot!"

"No, Jade. _Ewe!_ A female sheep!"

Jade made a face. "Well, there's plenty of those. In your dreams!"

"Wool?" said Tohru, plucking a single string from Uncle's vest. Jade took the wool and wrapped it around the flower. Both Tohru and Uncle chanted, "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!" A blast of energy shot out of the flower and hit Dai Gui square in the chest. Thank goodness too. He was about to crush Jackie.

"Here comes my favorite part," Jade said.

"NNNNNOOOOOOO!" screamed Dai Gui as he was sucked back into his portal.

When it was all over, Jackie dusted himself off. "How are you feeling, Uncle?"

"Very well rested, thank you. EXCEPT FOR THE DEMON SCREAMING IN MY FACE! ONE MORE THING! I told you the armor was good armor! ONE MORE THING! You should never question Uncle! ONE MORE THING! Jade buried my head in sand!" Jackie groaned at that. Yep. Uncle's gone crazier than normal.

"You should have made Uncle's tea stronger," Tohru groaned. "He is still cranky."

"I don't think there's enough tea in China to simmer Uncle down," Jade said. "Frying pans on the other hand..."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing." Jade ran and hugged Uncle. "Besides, I'll take Mr. Sourpuss over Mr. Happy Pants any old day!"

"Jade," Uncle asked. "Why did you leave Uncle buried in the cold, cold ground?"

"Huh?"

"In my dream, you buried me in sand! One more thing! A crab laid eggs in my ear! One more thing! I was coughing up sand for hours! ONE MORE THING!"

"Okay, Uncle," Jackie said, pushing the old man away. "Let's get you back to San Francisco."


	5. Chapter 5

At Fenway Park, the J Team was having a little meeting. Jackie Chan couldn't believe that the next demon portal was at a baseball stadium, the most inconvenient place for a demon to come out. "Jade," he said to his nephew. "Captain Black pulled strings to get you a seat in the dugout. Why aren't you watching the game?"

"Tch. And miss the real excitement?"

"You mean danger. The Dark Hand is here somewhere, looking for a demon portal."

"So?" Jade asked, taking note of the flute Jackie was holding. "So? If they open it, you just toot the flute and high fly the demon out of the park! Back where he belongs."

"Do you have everything you need for the Sky Demon chi spell, Uncle?" Jackie asked.

Uncle Chan peered into the soda cups Tohru was holding. "Bat wing dust. Lotus oil. Hummingbird saliva. Root beer." His eyes bugged out. "Root beer?!"

"Sorry, mine." Jade said, snatching the cup and slurping it down.

"That's your fifth soda," exclaimed Jackie.

"One for every Fenway Frank. Had to wash them down with something."

Tohru shook his head. "I do not know where she puts it all."

Jade finished her drink when she felt the call of nature. "Ooh! Pit stop!"

"You have to do this now?" Jackie asked, exasperated.

"Hello! Five sodas!" Jade reminded before running for the ladies' restroom.

(!)

Unfortunately for Jade, the stalls were already full. And so was her bladder. Jade hopped in place. She wished she could cast one of her spells to scare the women out of the stalls, but she couldn't concentrate with a bladder about to burst. "Come on, come on, come on!" A stall door finally opened and a woman walked out of it. "About time!"

(!)

After washing her hands, Jade walked to the door. "Jade's been in the dugout, but she's back in the game." But when she opened the door, she screamed. On the other side was a large demon with black skin, bat's wings and a long tail. This was Hsi Wu the Sky Demon. The Sky Demon whipped his tail at her, but she slammed the door on it, trapping the tail.

"Jade," Jackie called out. "Don't open the door!"

"DUH!"

"Now?" Jade heard Jackie ask Uncle.

"Please!"

Jackie began to play the flute, much to Hsi Wu's discomfort. He got so desperate to get away, that he severed his tail. Jade fully closed the door and watched as the demon's tail squirmed around, kind of like how a lizard's tail squirms when you pluck it off. The tail tried to crawl out, but Jade pinned it to the ground with all her strength. When she was sure the battle was over, the future Queen of the World grabbed the tail and walked out. "Jackie?" she asked. "Check it out."

(!)

That night, back at Uncle's Rare Finds, the tail caused all sorts of havoc in the store, smashing antiques as it attempted to get away. "Ai-yah!" screamed Uncle. "Jackie! Restrain the tail!"

Jackie had the tail coiled around him like a python as he struggled to keep it still. "I'm trying, Uncle!" But his attempts to restrain it resulted in it slapping him in the face.

"I don't think it likes you, Jackie," Jade said sarcastically.

The tail slipped out of Jackie's grip and tried to crawl out the door. Tohru stopped it, but the tail wrapped itself around his leg. "Uaaahh! Get it off me!"

"The tail seeks its owner, Hsi Wu the Sky Demon," Uncle said the obvious, calmly walking to Tohru. With a tight pinch, he made the tail go limp, freeing his apprentice from its grip. Then he placed the tail in a chest and poured a green powder on it. "This box is now protected by a chi spell. Bad magic cannot touch it. Until we devise a way to use the tail to our advantage." Taking no chances, Uncle poured the powder on the front door's lintel and posts. "We must be very cautious. This chi powder will also keep any demon from entering, unless they are invited."

Jade had a feeling someone heard them...

(!)

"Hacha," Jade said. "Finished. My banner. It will fly over my castle and over all the streets! The people will see it and know my power." She was finishing sketching her flag. It was reddish purple with a green and blue dragon circling a red pearl in the center. She smirked at her design. Since Uncle cast the chi spell, that meant any attempt to cast magic with her Demon Archive would result in her getting detected. So, this was all she could do until the whole Sky Demon thing was over.

Once again, Jade had the feeling someone was watching. She looked out her bedroom window, but saw nothing. But the feeling did not go away. Not even when she slept.

(!)

At school, Jade was hanging out in the playground, secretly reading the pages from her Demon Archive when Drew came over. "Hey Jade, you going to the spring dance Friday night?"

"Nah. Not interested," she responded, putting the pages in her backpack.

"Oh, that's too bad. I mean, it's not like anyone would want to go out with you. Except for your ninjas. Or do you fight them instead? Hi-yah!" He did a kung fu pose. His friends laughed. Jade's hands trembled in anger. She wanted to use her powers on him once. Just once.

"Hey Drew!" The slightly raspy voice that called out belonged to a boy with a very light tan, brown eyes, black, spiky hair and wearing a green shirt, beige pants and black shoes. "Who are _you_ gonna go with? Your mother?"

Drew's cheeks blushed. "N-n-no! I...I..." All his friends laughed at him.

Jade smiled at the boy who stood up for her. "Thanks...uh..."

"I'm Hs...Seymour...Wu...Jahoositz."

"Jade Chan," she responded. "You must be new."

"Yeah, I just flew into town. So Jade, is it true?"

"Of course." She paused. "What?"

"Do you really fight ninjas?"

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Normally, when people say that, they don't normally believe me. And we just met."

"Well, let's get to know each other more. Then we'll see if I believe."

(!)

Jade was walking home with her new friend, telling him the story of the time she accidentally lost her astral projection after using the Sheep Talisman and allowed Shendu to take over her body. "...and Jackie was knocking him off the roller coaster track!"

"That is so awesome!"

"Tch. That was nothing. Lately, Jackie's been taking on way worse than ninjas."

"Like what?"

"Well, you probably won't believe this, but yesterday, we captured part of a demon!"

"No way!"

"Way! Wanna see it?"

"You bet!"

(!)

Jade was the first to enter the shop. When she checked to make sure the coast was clear, she signaled her new friend to come in. For some reason, Seymour hesitated a little while outside. "Er, maybe we shouldn't. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble."

Jade scoffed, "Tch. Trouble follows me. Come on in!"

"Okay!" Seymour entered the shop and followed Jade into the back of the store. Jade pointed to the box where Hsi Wu's tail was.

"I guarantee you've never seen anything like this," Jade said.

"You'd be surprised, Jade," Seymor said.

Jade reached for the box's lid, but then she stopped. She had been practicing dark magic. Would the box's chi spell repel her? "What's wrong?" Seymour asked. He sounded impatient. "Show it!"

"Er..." Jade touched the box...nothing happened. Relieved, she opened the box all the way, showing the writhing thing. "Freaky, huh?"

Suddenly, a familiar old man came into the room and saw what was going on. "JADE!" Uncle shouted, slamming the box. "What are you doing?!"

"Uh..."

Then Uncle's eyes focused on Seymour. "And who are you?"

Jackie and Tohru came into the room. "Uncle," the former asked. "What's going on?!"

"Jade opened the box with the," he said before whispering, "you-know-what-inside!"

"Jade, you know you're not supposed to open the box with the you-know-what-inside," Jackie reprimanded.

"Jade didn't open it. I did," Seymour said with a hint of guilt.

Uncle eyed the boy suspiciously. "Bad magic cannot touch good. Show me your marks, demon boy," he shouted and grabbed Seymour's hands. Nothing. Not even a blemish.

"I didn't mean to cause any trouble," Seymour said. "I just wanted to see the you-know-what-inside."

Uncle gave him another suspicious look before walking off, muttering suspiciously. "This is Seymour," Jade introduced the boy. Jackie and Tohru greeted him warmly.

"Well, it was nice meeting everybody!" Seymour turned to leave and Jade followed him. Uncle continued to eye the boy suspiciously.

"This friend of Jade's is too polite..."

"Uncle," Jackie said, looking on the bright side. "Jade finally has a friend her own age. This could keep her away from portals and demons," he reminded.

(!)

Outside, Jade said, "Seymour, thanks for taking the hit! Nobody's ever down that for me!"

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"Before you go, there's something else I want to show you."

"What's that?"

"Follow me."

"I dunno," Seymour said, looking around. "I think my mom might wonder where I am."

"It won't take long, I promise."

(!)

To Seymour's confusion and disgust, Jade led him to the junkyard. "Ugh! Why are we even here?"

"I told you, I wanted to show you something."

Seymour got mad. "Well, what is it?!"

Slowly, Jade turned around and surprised him when her eyes turned solid red and her skin turned blue. "This." She pointed her right index finger at him and a blast of dark energy shot out of it. It hit Seymour in the chest and sent him flying into an old, broken car. "I was worried that the box's protection spell might hurt me, but thank goodness it didn't. Guess I have to be in Queen mode for it to hurt me." Seymour groaned as he slowly got up. "I wasn't fooled for a second, Seymour. Or should I call you Hsi Wu the Sky Demon?"

In an instant, Hsi Wu dropped the disguise and said in a raspy voice that was higher pitched than Seymour's, "So I see. You are full of surprises." The Sky Demon flew at her, ready to claw her throat out, but stopped and gasped in horror when Jade held up a flute. It wasn't the same one Jackie had, but one she borrowed from her school's music class. "Ah, ah," she said. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I must warn you, I did learn how to play Greensleeves. It was very tedious."

Hsi Wu backed away from her. "Get that away from me!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because...because I can tell you learned a thing or two from the Demon Archive. Right up until Shendu got it destroyed. I can teach you more!"

"Tch. What could you possibly teach me?"

"Well, for starters..." Hsi Wu flapped his wings at hurricane speeds, knocking Jade off her feet. And unfortunately, she let go of the flute in the process. Hsi Wu pinned her to the ground. "So weak." Sparks of purple electricity crackled as Jade yelled and let loose all her anger to explosive levels. And explode she did. The Dark Bomb activated, blasting Hsi Wu off her and sending him into a pile of rubbish.

Jade got back up, but then fell to her knees. She panted heavily, then very slowly got back to her feet. "Tch." Suddenly, a clawed hand burst out of the rubbish pile and Hsi Wu let out a batlike screech. "Crud," Jade said. She pointed her right index finger at the Sky Demon, but he flew at her and lifted her up by the throat before slamming her into the ground. "Like I said, weak." Jade let out a roar and struggled to get lose, but it was no good. Hsi Wu just laughed, which infuriated her even more.

"I'll kill you! I will kill you and your siblings, you overgrown bat!" she screamed.

Hsi Wu laughed again. "I like your spunk." He jumped off of her and landed on all fours. "Tell me, why are you using dark magic? I never pegged you to be the type who goes to the dark side."

Jade got up and dusted herself. "Let's just say I am interested in far greater powers. Powers that I know everyone is afraid of, that's why they hold me back!" A strong wind began blowing around her, but Hsi Wu held his ground. "Powers that would make your kind jealous! And I am not going let you and your siblings and especially that overgrown crocodile, Shendu take away my world!" The snap of her fingers and, to Hsi Wu's surprise, a Shadowkhan popped out of the ground and tossed the flute to her. She was about to press her lips to it when the Sky Demon held up his hand and shouted, "Wait! I can help you!"

Jade wasn't buying it. "Tch. You want to know what happened the last time a demon said that to me? He betrayed me!"

"It was Shendu, wasn't it," Hsi Wu said dryly. "I'm not surprised. He never did like sharing. Not even with his own kind." Jade pressed her lips to the flute when he shouted, "Wait! I'm not like him! I can help you!"

"I don't need your help," Jade said. "I have my book. I have my family. And once I dispose of your kind and put my family in their proper place as my slaves, no one will stop me from ruling the world!" Hsi Wu said nothing, then he burst out laughing. "What's so funny?!"

"You are! You honestly think a little girl like yourself can rule the world? You've only begun to scratch the surface! I can teach you more and I won't turn on you like Shendu did and I won't hold you back. You can trust me."

Jade lowered the flute. "And why should I trust you?"

"Because I could have killed you the moment you left the school. You're the reason I find myself without a tail after all. And besides, I think I see a lot of potential in you. Even if you are just a kid." Jade said nothing. "Fine. What do you want from me?"

Jade turned to the Shadowkhan and said, "Bring me the book." It nodded and vanished into the shadows.

Hsi Wu burst out laughing. "I cannot believe it! Shendu's minions being controlled by an inexperienced little child! I don't know how you did it, but it sure is very funny!"

Jade smirked. "I learned a new trick." A few seconds later, the Shadowkhan returned with the Demon Archive and she showed it to the Sky Demon. "Can you help me translate my book?"

Hsi Wu looked at it then to her. "Can you get me my tail and not get me sealed back in my portal?"

"Can I trust you to not tell Shendu I still have the Demon Archive and that the Shadowkhan obey him because I told them to? Or tell Jackie that I am working with a demon?"

"Only if you can get a way to retrieve my tail."

"Fine. And I think I have an idea. We'll carry it out after school."

Both Hsi Wu and Jade smiled a wicked, toothy grin. This was beginning of a wonderful partnership.

(!)

At Uncle's Rare Finds, while Jade was at school, Uncle performed the chi spell on the still writhing tail as it struggled to free itself. "Since the tail wants to find its owner, I will coat it with the proper chi ingredients," Uncle said. "Then release it and let it lead us to Hsi Wu."

"Where it will reattach, infusing the demon with the chi spell," said Tohru.

"Which I will activate by blowing the flute," said Jackie. He gave the flute a little toot, playing a very off-key tune. Uncle shouted, "AIYAH! Blow only once the tail attaches!"

Jackie watched as Uncle began to pack mung bean sandwiches into his backpack. "What's all that, Uncle?"

"Mung bean sandwiches for the trip."

"Trip?"

"Eh! The Sky Demon could be half around the world by now!"

(!)

Outside, Jade and Seymour hid next to a dumpster just behind the shop. "You remember the plan?" Jade asked her friend.

"Sure, I do."

"Okay. Action!"

(!)

Jackie, Uncle and Tohru came outside of the shop with the tail disguised as a dog. Very poorly disguised. "Interesting camouflage, Uncle," Jackie said sarcastically. Suddenly, the trio heard screaming and turned to the left. Jade and Seymour were running toward them with Hsi Wu the Sky Demon chasing after them. "Give me back my tail, you little brat!"

The tail shot out of Uncle's leash and reattached itself to the Sky Demon's stump. He let out a shriek and said, "What did you do my tail?!"

"Now," shouted Uncle to Jackie. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fi Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fi Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fi Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fi Di Zao."

Jackie blew the flute and the tail glowed and pulled Hsi Wu all the way to Fenway Park. "NOOOOOOOO!" The Sky Demon was sucked back into the portal and his scream was silenced when it closed.

(!)

"And that's demon number six," Jade said with a smirk. "Tails, you lose."

"Six?" exclaimed Seymour. "There's more of them?"

"Well," Jade said. "There used to be eight. One of them is currently in the body of a deadbeat and the other has yet to be sealed permanently."

"Jade!" exclaimed Jackie. "Did you have to tell him that?!"

Jade said, "Dude, he just saw a demon. I don't think we're going to keep this secret from him. Plus, I kind of told him a lot about our adventures while I was at school." Jackie made an exasperated noise.

(!)

"Sure you still don't want to go to the dance with Seymour," Tohru asked Jade later that night.

"Nah," Jade said. "Nah, Seymour said it's kind of silly, really. But that doesn't mean he doesn't wan to hang out. That's why he invited me to a sleepover."

Tohru smiled, taking note of her backpack. "Okay. Be sure to come back tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

Finally Jade has a friend her own age besides Paco and who knows? Maybe Jackie was right about Seymour being the perfect distraction to keep Jade out of trouble.

(!)

As Jade walked to where Seymour was, she turned back to her Shadowkhan form. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a thought said to her, "You can't trust him."

"I know."

(!)

"I'm telling you," Hsi Wu said to his siblings via a magic mirror. "It's almost too easy. She's willing to help us in exchange for me helping her read that book."

"Too bad there's no spell in that book to break us free," Xiao Fung pointed out.

"And, not counting Shendu," Bai Tza said. "Only two demon sorcerers now be free. Myself and you."

"It's a bummer, I know," Hsi Wu said. "And as for that stupid girl, I'm going to play that girl's stupid game until I can drop a bridge on her. Hopefully literally."

"She should know better than to be playing with dark magic," Tso Lan said.

"Aw, let her have her fun," Po Kong said. "One less human to worry about."

"I couldn't agree...shhh! I think I hear her coming." Hsi Wu quickly turned off the mirror and turned around to see the door open. Jade stepped in and unzipped her backpack.

"I held my end of the deal. Thanks to casting a duplication spell on both you and your tail, with the finishing charm this time, Uncle has no idea the Hsi Wu he sealed away was a fake. Your siblings must have been surprised to find out you had a twin. Until the spell broke at least," she added with a chuckle.

"And here I thought dark magic couldn't touch good," the Sky Demon said with a small laugh.

"Turns out, I'm not all dark like you and your siblings. I could remove the tail from the box and place the duplicate on it while everyone was asleep and not get burned. Anyway, I kept my end of the bargain. Now you keep yours." She pulled the Demon Archive from her backpack and opened it. "Help me translate the rest of the book."


	6. Chapter 6

"So," Jade said, showing the book to Seymour. "Where do we begin?" It was late at night when Jade met Seymour again. Their first "session" in dark magic was in an abandoned warehouse that was near the pier.

"Well," Seymour said, flipping the pages before stopping on one chapter. "There is mine and Xiao Fung's chapter."

"Xiao Fung's?"

"We both share similar powers, since Sky and Wind cannot exist without the other."

Jade took a look at the pages. "Uh, reminder: I can't read ancient Chinese."

Seymour face palmed. "Must I do everything?"

"Duh. Because, again, I CAN'T READ ANCIENT CHINESE!"

"Doesn't that old man you call Uncle teach you Chinese or are you too westernized to read it?"

"I was born in Hong Kong. I _do_ know Chinese. Just not ancient."

Seymour sighed in frustration. "Fine. I guess I do have to do everything. Let's start with the basics. This spell," he pointed to a text. "teaches you how to fly."

Jade frowned at him. "Tch. I already know how to fly."

"More like hover a few feet off the ground."

"Is that all you can teach?"

"Well, there are air based powers."

"Can't you teach me like, mind control, or how to create armies out of rock?"

"What, you want to learn more? Let's ask my siblings. Oh, wait! We can't! Because you and your family sealed them away permanently!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry." She sighed. "Fine. We'll start with the flying. How do I do that?"

"Simply jump and will the air around you to move you."

"Okay." Jade concentrated, imagined the wind carrying her and jumped. For a few minutes, Jade thought she was actually flying. And then then she was proven wrong when she fell flat on her face. "Ow." Seymour just laughed at her. "Oh, ha, ha. Let me try again." Jade made a light jump and began to hover again, then she crashed her head into the ceiling. She groaned and rubbed her head. "Maybe we should have been practicing this outside instead of indoors."

Seymour sniggered. "Yeah, I was gonna suggest that."

Jade growled at him. "Well, why didn't you?"

"It's fun watching you crash," he said with a grin. Jade let out a growl and pointed a finger at him. Dark energy expelled from it, firing at him. He dodged it and laughed again. "Temper, temper!" She huffed at him. "Shall we continue?"

Jade fumed. "Fine."

(!)

Jade slammed the door after she and Seymour left. She ordered the Shadowkhan to repair the damage she caused in the basement. "I think I'm getting the hang of it," she said.

"Was that before or after the tenth time you crashed into a wall," Seymour laughed.

"Don't remind me," she said, rubbing her head.

"So," Seymour said. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Tch. And have you watch me crash into a wall again? No way. I want to do this in a secret place that's more out in the open."

"As long as it's not the dump. I hate the smell of that place!"

"Which is why I put these up my nose." She pulled out a pair of nose plugs. "If you want, I can steal you a bunch of air fresheners."

"Cute," Seymour snarked.

"Well," said Jade. "See you tomorrow." She faded into the shadows, disappearing. Left alone, Seymour turned back into Hsi Wu and flew to his nest located in an abandoned water tower. He drew a circle on the wall and it turned into a window. On the other side of the window were his siblings.

"So, how's the babysitting job?" Po Kong asked. The other demons laughed.

"Shut up!" Hsi Wu shouted. "It's not funny! You try being in my position: stuck with a girl who's trying to 'rule the world', when in reality, she's in way over her head! And I can't get our archive back from her otherwise the Shadowkhan will alert her!"

"It's sort of funny knowing that the Shadowkhan obey Shendu because one little girl told them to do so," Xiao Fung said.

"And dangerous," Tso Lan said. "It's bad enough she knows how to summon the Shadowkhan but the fact that you're teaching her, brother?"

"I can't help it," Hsi Wu said. "She's got a flute on her at all times."

"Then perhaps this situation calls for a woman's touch," Bai Tza said. "Assuming that idiot Shendu gets it right."

"Then we can get rid of the girl?"

"Certainly."

"The girl is not our number one priority right now," Tcang Zu shouted. "How are we going to rule the world with, not counting Shendu, two demon sorcerers?"

"That is a problem," Po Kong said. "It will be just you and Bai Tza, Hsi Wu."

The Sky Demon tapped his chin. "I honestly don't know."

Bai Tza tapped her chin. "Perhaps the girl might prove herself useful to us. Provided we teach her the right spell."

(!)

Jade appeared in her room, this time making sure she didn't make a sound. With a yawn and a stretch, she placed the Demon Archive under the floorboards and crawled into bed. Before she plopped her head on the pillow, a voice rang in her head. "How long do you plan on using Hsi Wu? You know the second you have no further use for him, he will turn on you."

"I guess I'll have to turn on him before he gets the chance," Jade said to herself. It had to be who she was talking to. There was no one else here.

"And what of Bai Tza the Water Demon? She's the only demon sorcerer left, not counting Shendu."

Jade slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh, man! I forgot about her!"

"So, you admit you have a problem. You know she and Hsi Wu will team up and take your book."

Jade hated to admit but she was right. Bai Tza won't be so easy to persuade. How was she going to turn the last of the Demon Sorcerers to her side? Bah, she'll think about it later. Right now, she needed to sleep. She shut her eyes and went to sleep, dreaming of sitting on a golden throne in a castle that was once Section 13, surrounded by Shadowkhan and best of all, using her family and the J-Team as her slaves.


	7. Chapter 7

In Section 13, Jackie was packing his things when he suddenly felt a presence. He turned around to see Jade wearing a top hat and cape and a fake unibrow. "Is it Halloween already?" he asked.

Jade crossed her arms and frowned. "You forgot, didn't you? Tonight's the school play! I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! It's my debut!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jade," Jackie said sincerely. "But the university asked Uncle and me to explore the subterranean city underneath the streets."

"Uh-huh," Jade said sarcastically.

"No, it's true!" Jackie pulled out a map. "A recent tremor has opened up passageways that have been buried since the 1906 earthquake. Another tremor may collapse the passageway at any moment, so there isn't much time."

"But...my play..." Jade said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I would rather see your play, but I have to do this now and I cannot be in two places at the same time."

That gave Jade an idea and she made her best Mr. Hyde smile. "That's okay. I understand. Work is pretty important." She left the room, still smiling.

Jackie resumed packing, still feeling disappointed that he let his niece down. Jade returned and handed him something. It was the Tiger Talisman. "Why would I need this?" Suddenly, the Talisman glowed and split in two. In a flash of light, there were now two Jackie Chans: one had a mean frown while the other had a meek look on his face. In their hands was one half of the Tiger Talisman.

"Two Jackies _can_ be in two places at once," said Jade.

The Yang Jackie let out a laugh. "Alright! The Tiger is free! Free to be me! Do you know how lame it is being trapped in the same body with him?" He pointed to his Yin counterpart.

"Oh, no!" Yin Jackie shouted. "This is a big mistake! We should not be two Jackies!"

"See what I mean? Out of my way, Pussycat!" Yang Jackie pushed Yin Jackie to the ground.

"I am very disappointed in you, Jade," Yin scolded her. "You know playing with magic is a no-no!"

Yang laughed and said sarcastically, "'A no-no'?! Oh, nooo! Say it ain't sooo!"

"We must turn ourselves back into one Jackie!"

"Not gonna happen!"

Suddenly, the door knocked and Uncle called out on the other side, "Jackie! The bag is heavy!"

"Uncle!" exclaimed Yin Jackie happily. "He will agree with me!"

Jade blocked his way. "No! He'll see you guys!"

"Open up!" the old man shouted. "Uncle has no time for games!"

Jade gasped. Oh man, she really didn't think this through. Again. With no time to plan, Jade snatched both halves of the Tiger Talisman, hid them in a vase, tossed Yin Jackie into a closet and hid Yang Jackie behind the door before it opened. "Where is Jackie?" he called out. "I thought I heard him."

Jade tossed her cape over Yang Jackie's face. "Er, he's packing! So, Uncle," she said, trying to change topic. "Did you get my cape from the clean up mats?"

"Cape? What cape?"

"Tch! The school play," she said, being a bit overdramatic. "If I don't have my cape, my big debut will be ruined!" She fell to her knees. "I'll be ruined! Everything will be ruined!"

"Okay, okay! You are making my brain hurt! Ugh. Tell Jackie to be ready for our journey when I return."

"Deal," Jade said, standing up. She slammed the door closed when he left. "Whew."

"Nice save, Jadester," Yang Jackie said dryly as he tossed the cape off.

Jade suddenly replayed what she was told. "'Our journey'? Uncle's going underground, too? Isn't anyone going to see me play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

Yin Jackie burst out of the closet and waved his hand excitedly. "I will, I will, I will! Oh, the theater! The theater!"

Jade shook her head. "Uh-uh. No way am I going to school with him."

"I know exactly how you feel," Yang Jackie said.

"Good, then come on." The two of them left, leaving Yin Jackie alone.

"But, what about me?" he asked sadly.

"Jackie!" Uncle called out. He came into the door and grabbed his bag. "You are still not ready! We need to go now!" He handed the bag to him. "And why did you not tell me you already picked up Jade's cape?"

"...I have no idea what you are talking about."

* * *

So far the play went along smoothly. Everyone in the audience focused on the play...except for Yin Jackie, who looked incredibly bored.

"And so," a dark-haired girl playing the narrator said. "Dr. Jekyll believed he could separate the good and the evil within man."

"Nice read, Simone," Jade said before the spotlight shone on her. "Oh!" She grabbed one of the vials. "With this potion, I will prove my scientific duties to the world! But, what if I'm wrong? Heavens! The results could be disastrous!"

"Come on, hack!" shouted someone in the crowd. Someone she regretted bringing. "Pick up the pace! Turn into Mr. Hyde and terrorize the town already!"

Jade could feel the tattoo on her back start to tingle. She was sorely tempted to use it...but not here and now. "You think you can do better," she instead whispered at him.

"Don't mind if I do!" Yang Jackie jumped onto the stage, snatched the potion from her and guzzled it down like an animal. "Blech! This tastes terrible."

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought the Tiger..."

And it soon got worse when Yang Jackie basically stole the spotlight from her, even stealing the cape. "This potion is wonderful! Evil Hyde is much cooler than goody-goody Jekyll!" The audience laughed and clapped, thinking it was all part of the show.

Simone pulled Jade off stage and asked, "Isn't that your Uncle?"

"Uh...maybe?" Suddenly her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Jade!" Yin Jackie shouted on the other end. "I've accidentally released an evil troll named Spring-Heeled Jack!"

"Cool!"

"And he attacked Uncle and me and trapped us in a phone booth!"

"Not cool."

"Spring-Heeled Jack is planning to destroy innocent people! We must stop him!"

"Don't worry. I'll get the Tiger." She turned to see Yang Jackie hogging the spotlight. "Psst! Tiger! Uncle and the Pussycat need our help!"

"Sorry. I'm busy with _my_ big debut!"

But Jade knew what buttons to push. "Okay, but you're going to miss out on some butt kicking action on an evil troll," she teased.

"Hmm. Evil troll, big debut. Evil troll, big debut." Yang Jackie snatched the phone. "I'm on my way." Then he turned to Jade. "You stay here!" And like that, he left.

Jade whispered something in Simone's ear. Then the girl said to the audience, "Due to some technical difficulties, we'll be taking a short intermission!"

The curtains closed, and the audience started murmuring in confusion. Simone pulled Jade to the side. "What is going on?"

"Uh...can't talk! Bathroom!"

* * *

Jade, making sure she was alone, exhaled. Her skin turned blue and her eyes turned solid red. "Time to find this troll...if only I knew where to look."

"He's at the boardwalk," said a raspy voice. Jade yelped in shock. There was Seymour, leaning against one of the stalls with his arms crossed.

"Hsi-Wu," she hissed. "How did you get in here? No, better yet, what are you doing here?! This is the _women's_ restroom!"

"My portal was located at a women's lavatory in that...what was it...baseball stadium. Why should you care? Besides, I thought this troll might be the perfect opportunity to resume your training?"

"Tch. Too risky. The Tiger and the Pussycat may already be there."

Seymour smirked. "I must say, I like that dark Jackie than the usual one."

"Trust me. He's worse. He's just as trustworthy as Shendu!"

Seymour's face faulted. "Oh. That bad, huh?"

"Which is why we need to find this troll before he decides to manipulate the Tiger. The only question is...how do we beat him?"

"Heck if I know."

That made Jade slightly irritated. "You what?! You're a demon! You should know these things!"

Seymour held up his hands defensively. "Hey! It's not like we know each other!"

Jade sighed in frustration. "Then we're doing this the hard way. Can you fly me to the docks?"

"I'm not a taxi service. You want to fly? Fly there yourself."

"Tch." She knew she wasn't quite ready. "Okay. Open the window."

* * *

"WAAAAUUUUGGHHHH!" CRASH! Jade smacked into a warehouse wall, sliding down and landing on her butt. "Ow."

"Still have much to learn," Seymour said with a smile. He landed next to her and hid his wings.

"Tch. I still arrived didn't I?"

"True. Now if only you can stick the landing."

Suddenly, they heard screams and a boinging sound. They turned the corner and saw a short, green-skinned man with wild red hair and wearing a green outfit with a cape hopping around. The source of the boinging sound was his shoes, which had springs on the soles. It didn't take a big thinker to realize this was Spring-Heeled Jack.

Jack grabbed a random man, held him over the water and sniffed him. "Stop your whining, no need to bawl. You're not a Magus after all." Then he let the man go.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Is he speaking in rhyme? And Magus? Where have I heard that name before?"

Suddenly, Uncle, Tiger Jackie and Pussycat Jackie came running up to the demon. "Now's my cue," Jade said, running after them; her skin and eye color returning to normal.

"Wait, what about..." Too late. Seymour was alone. He kicked a can and growled a little. "Great."

* * *

Tiger Jackie leaped into the air and kicked Spring-Heeled Jack down. But the troll got back up and laughed. "Your head, it must be very thick, if you think I'll fall from just one kick!"

Tiger Jackie smirked and cracked his neck. "Catchy." He tried kicking the troll again, but he jumped out of the way. Tiger Jackie charged at his opponent, but the troll jumped over him and he fell into the water.

Pussycat Jackie tapped Spring-Heeled Jack's shoulder. "Excuse me, Mr. Spring-Heeled Jack? Why don't we sit down and talk about this like gentlemen?"

The troll blinked in confusion. "Back so soon? How can it be? Your clothes aren't even watery!"

He jumped over his head and prepared to headbutt the Yin Jackie, but PussyCat Jackie grabbed a woman's shopping bags and used them as shields. "Do you enjoy being a meanie?"

"I confess. Yes!" Spring-Heeled Jack launched himself into Pussycat Jackie's gut, sending him flying off the dock. In an instant, Tiger Jackie returned and said, "Miss me?" before punching him in the face and sending him spinning. At that moment, Pussycat Jackie came back onto the dock and joined his bad counterpart's side.

Spring-Heeled Jack finally landed on his butt and stared at the two Jackies in confusion. "There are two of you? This could be trouble..." Both Jackies lunged at him, but he jumped out of the way. "Perhaps I'm only seeing double!" Then he jumped over them and hopped away, laughing.

"Need a hand?" Jade asked the Jackies.

Tiger Jackie frowned at her. "I thought you were at the play!"

"Emergency intermission. I couldn't miss to see the Tiger in action."

"Okay."

"Not okay!" shouted Uncle. "Jade!"

She fell to her knees and put her hands together. "Oh, Uncle! It's all my fault! I snuck into Section 13! I took the Tiger Talisman! I hid the halves in a potted plant! I..."

"Save the acting for your play."

Jade instantly smiled. "Deal. So what's the plan?"

"Help me find a net."

* * *

Meanwhile, Spring-Heeled Jack hopped down the streets. "Spring-Heeled Jack will be the winner once I have the Maguses for dinner!" He sniffed the air. "Almost there. No, correction!" He sniffed again. "A pure blooded Magus in this direction!"

Up on the roof, Jade and Uncle readied the net. "Wait for it," he said. "What for it...NOW!" They tossed the net, but instead of catching the troll, they caught the two Jackies who were chasing after him.

"No nets or chains or heavy locks will put this Jack back in his box," the troll growled. "Imprisoned for a century, but now I am free! Free to be me!"

Tiger Jackie untangled himself and approached him. "Buddy, I know exactly how you feel."

Spring-Heeled Jack raised an eyebrow. "You do, do you? Can this be true?"

"Magus sounds like a real party pooper, just like _some_ people I know," Tiger glanced at Pussycat who was still struggling to get out. "I was trapped too, but now that I am free, I want to _stay_ free! To be _me_!"

"Hmm...you're just like me. It would seem that you and I should be a team!"

"What's in it for me?"

"Fame, fortune, fun?" the troll asked, extending his hand out.

Tiger Jackie shook his hand. "Done." Then he and his new partner in crime took off running...or hopping in Spring-Heeled Jack's case.

Pussycat Jackie gasped as Uncle helped free him. "This is terrible! My dark side has gone over to the dark side!"

"Enough is enough!" Uncle exclaimed. "We must reunite the Jackies! I will return with the Tiger Talisman." He went to find the closest taxi to take him to Section 13.

Meanwhile, Pussycat Jackie and Jade caught up with Tiger Jackie, who was completely winded from following Spring-Heeled Jack. "Brother," the Yin half of Jackie said. "This is not right! You should not be helping Spring-Heeled Jack!"

"Dude just wants to be free! Like me!" growled Tiger Jackie.

"But he's a really bad Jack and you're a..."

"Cool?" Tiger Jackie interrupted Jade.

"Not anymore."

"Me? Not cool?"

"Cool people don't help out creeps! At least that's what all the cool people think."

"Then that's what I think, too!" And with that, Tiger Jackie took off running after the troll. Not to help him this time, but to stop him.

Jade smirked. I knew he would fall for that. Pussycat Jackie gave him

Meanwhile, Spring-Heeled Jack managed to stop long enough for Tiger Jackie to catch up with him. "The Magus soon will be in sight, and we'll consume them bite by bite!"

"Forget the 'we', Jack! You're on your own!" He tried to swing a punch, but the troll quickly dodged him.

"Now, now, what's this you're telling me? You'd rather be my enemy?" He kicked Tiger Jackie in the gut then hopped away down the street.

Jade and Pussycat Jackie caught up to Tiger Jackie. "That was cool," complimented Jade. "Unsuccessful but cool."

Tiger Jackie then smirked at his Pussycat counterpart. "What do you say, bro? Let's show this troll what two Jackies can do." The two halves shook hands, then took off after the troll.

Jade was about to follow when she heard, "Psst!" Seymour was hanging by an alley, gesturing her to come over. "What is it, Hsi-Wu?" she asked him. "I'm about to kick troll butt!"

"I think I know why that name, Magus sounds familiar," the demon boy said. "He is a magician from you humans' New Testament."

"So? What about it?"

"His whole name was Simon Magus."

"Simon?" Then it clicked and she slapped herself in the forehead. "Simon, Simone! Big giant duh!"

"How do you intend to beat him?" Seymour asked.

"Uh...I'll think about it. Right now, I've got to get to the theater and warn Simone!"

Seymour made a disgusted snort. "I don't understand why you're helping her. She's just a human."

Jade looked back at him. "Well, for starters, I do need to practice my new moves on Spring-Heeled Jack. And second, if she is a descendant of Simon Magus, she might know magic as well." Concentrating, she focused on a mental image of the theater before sinking into the shadows.

* * *

Back at the theater, Simone was pacing back and forth when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She gasped and turned around. "Jade! Where were you? I don't know how long this intermission is going to last, people are already starting to leave."

"Forget the play. Right now, you're in danger!"

"Huh?"

Jade tapped her chin. "Uh...how do I explain this?" She inhaled, then said rapidly, "There's a troll named Spring-Heeled Jack that is going to eat you because your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather sealed him away."

Simone blinked then she laughed. "I think you're getting too carried away with the horror show. Spring-Heeled Jack?" She laughed again. "My mom told me about him. He's like the Bogeyman! He doesn't exist! Like your stories."

Jade wanted to roar at her, but she didn't get the chance. Spring-Heeled Jack crashed through the window and landed in the auditorium. People screamed and ran out of the building. He sniffed the air and his eyed fixed on Simone, "At last, the Magus in sight! I shall quench my appetite!"

Simone was frozen in fear. Jade grabbed her by the hand and tried to run, but the troll blocked their path. "Spring-Heeled Jack?!" Simone shrieked. "My mom told me about you! But I thought it was just a story!"

"A story, yes, but it's all true," the troll said, his mouth growing unnaturally large. "I'm real and I've come for you!" He let out a roar and tried to take a bite out of her head, only to be blasted by a wave of dark energy. Simone gasped as Jade's her skin turned blue.

"You won't touch her," she hissed.

"J-Jade?"

The Chan girl turned around and Simone shrieked when she saw her red eyes. "How do you stop this guy," she demanded.

"I...I...I don't remem..."

Jade grabbed her by the collar and shook her. "Remember faster!"

Spring-Heeled Jack suddenly jumped out of the rubble and kicked Jade away. "This child must pay for what Magus did that faithful day!"

Jade groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Ow." She heard Simone scream and saw the troll holding her with his mouth wide open. Jade growled and shouted, "Stop him!" A Shadowkhan appeared out of nowhere and kicked the troll away.

Simone let out a squeak. "Ninja! The-The-They're..."

"Real?" Jade finished her sentence. "Yes. Now, one last time, how do you beat him?"

Simone, still quite terrified from what she was witnessing, managed to recall what her mother told her. "Salt! You have to sprinkle him with salt!"

"Tch. Is that all?" Jade turned to the Shadowkhan. "Go get some salt and bring it to me. Make it snappy!" The Shadowkhan bowed before sinking into the shadows.

Simone stammered, "Y-You control them? I thought you said they were the bad guys!"

"Not anymore."

The troll suddenly came hopping back, lunging at Simone. Jade's hands glowed purple and she punched him in the mouth. A shockwave erupted on the moment of impact and the troll was sent flying into a wall. He slowly got back up and groaned. Then he spat out a tooth. "Well, now you have my attention, little girl blue. If I want the Magus, I'll first have to devour you!"

"I'm getting sick of your rhyming." She snapped her fingers. At least a dozen Shadowkhan dropped from the ceiling and pinned the troll down. Then the Shadowkhan she had sent before returned with a salt shaker. "What took you?" she demanded as she snatched the salt from it. Then she turned to Simone. "You should do the honors."

Simone was surprised. "M-Me?!"

"Your ancestor was the one who did it, so can you."

Simone looked from the troll who was struggling to get out, to the salt shaker. Then she made a confident look and took the salt shaker. The two girls carefully walked over to Spring-Heeled Jack who glared at Simone. "Hear me now and listen well, Magus girl! The next time I am released your family won't be safe in this world!"

She removed the cap off and poured all its contents on the monster. "Here's a rhyme of my own. Return to stone, accursed one. Your threats amount to none!"

As the troll's skin and clothes slowly turned gray, he gave out one last laugh, "That's exactly what he-" He didn't finish his rhyme. The Shadowkhan removed themselves from the petrified body and bowed before Jade, who bowed back. "Dismissed," she said and they disappeared into the shadows.

"Jade?" Simone said, unsteady. "That...was..." Then her eyes lit up. "SO COOL! Wait 'til Drew finally sees that you're right! And you have an army of ninjas! Oh, and I just fought off a monster!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Jade said with her finger up. "Let's keep this our little secret."

"But why?"

"I...er...want it to be a surprise! I just haven't thought of how to show them to him."

"Oh," Simone said, disappointed. "Hey, think you can go blue when you play Mr. Hyde? After this place is repaired first."

"Mmm...I'll think about it."

Suddenly, the two Jackies burst through the door and the Tiger shouted, "Alright, who's ready for a...huh?" He expressed his confusion when he saw the troll already turned to stone. "What the heck?! I was gonna beat him up! And how did you get here before us," he turned to Jade.

"How many times have you asked that question?"

Tiger was about to retort when Pussycat asked, "But how did you beat that mean troll, Jade?"

"I didn't, it was all Simone. Turns out all we needed was a pinch of salt."

"Ha cha," Uncle said, coming in with the Tiger Talisman halves. "I knew there was good reason to carry salt today!"

Simone looked from Pussycat to Tiger and asked, "You have twin uncles? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh," Jade said. "We have to fix that."

Uncle handed the two Jackies the Talisman halves. "Tiger, we must reunite," said Jackie's Yin half.

"For once, I think you may be right," replied Jackie's Yang half.

There was a flash of light and there was only one Jackie now. He inspected himself and cheered, "I am me again! I am back!" Then he groaned, "And oh, my aching back."

* * *

In the underground city below the streets of San Francisco, in the Bizzaritorium Museum, Jackie placed the statue of Spring-Heeled Jack back in the display case and made sure to surround it with large bags of salt and added an umbrella on top of the case to prevent any water from leaking on it. "Jack is back," said Jade. "Don't forget, Jackie, you promised to come see me in the final performance of Jekyll and Hyde tomorrow."

"Oh, Jade I'm so sorry, but I will be very busy writing up my research on the underground city and I cannot be in two places at -" He stopped when he saw Jade glare at him. "I will be there."

* * *

 **I should probably explain my absence. I have been working on a Black Butler story on Archive Of Our Own: Indigo Maid. Feel free to check it out.**


	8. Chapter 8

Jade sighed in boredom as she read the pages of the Demon Archive she had just translated. Jackie was off on another treasure hunt while Uncle had to watch over her. Again. Despite her learning new things, she still wanted adventure and excitement. She decided to give him a call. After a few rings, she heard Jackie's voice on the cell phone. "Hello?"

"I suppose you're having fun without me, Jackie," she said, bored.

"Fun? No, I'm not really, Jade! What is it?"

Jade swore she could hear him fighting someone. "I need to be where the action is! How come you didn't take me with?"

"I told you! School is too important and - WHOA! Ha! You missed!"

"Missed what?"

"Uh..."

"Fine. Just hurry back! Uncle won't let me do anything fun!"

"Believe me Jade, there is nothing more I would like to do than return to Uncle's shop!"

Suddenly, she heard static, then the phone got cut off. "Hello? Jackie?" Downstairs, she heard a chime sound. When it stopped, she put the book in its hiding place and ran downstairs to find Jackie, looking around confused. She grinned excitedly. "Jackie! How'd you get back so soon? You were in a 'taxi' when I called."

Jackie shrugged his shoulders. "Yes. A water taxi! In Italy!"

Jade tilted her head. "Come again?"

"Jackie!" Uncle exclaimed as he entered the room. "Did not expect you until tonight!"

"You and me both, Uncle," Jackie said, still amazed with what happened. Then he showed him a solid gold necklace. "I believe this necklace has magical powers."

"Cool! Can I check it out?" Jade asked.

Jackie held it from her reach. "No, Jade. This necklace could be very dangerous."

"Tch. Everything is very dangerous! Traveling to Venice, digging for artifacts, wearing jewelry." Wearing tattoos...

"Perhaps the inscriptions from the mural will explain," Jackie said to Uncle, holding up a paper with strange writing on it.

"Uncle will look into it," the old man said, taking it and the necklace. "Meanwhile, you fix your niece."

"What do you mean? OW!" Jackie yelped as Uncle whacked him on the head with the paper.

"Open eyes! Jade turning into a couch potato! Watches TV all day and all night, sometimes stays up in room doing Uncle knows what! Young girl needs a hobby!"

The two men looked at Jade. She looked from Uncle to Jackie. "What?"

Suddenly, the door opened and a girl entered. She was wearing a yellow undershirt shirt, an orange dress and sash with badges on it and an orange beret with a yellow flower. Behind her was a wagon full of boxes of cookies. "Greetings, campers," she said cheerfully. "I'm a Buttercup Scout and my troop is trying to raise money by selling these delicious boxes of -"

"Cookies!" Tohru said happily as he walked out of the study (and slammed the door in Jackie's face without knowing it) and walked to the girl's wagon.

"What kind would you like, Mister," the Buttercup Scout asked. "We have Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Mint, Oatmeal Raisin..."

"Oh, may I have them all?" he asked.

"You sure may! Will that be check or..." Tohru handed her every dollar he had. "Cool!" The girl left with the money and the empty wagon while Tohru returned to the study with the cookies and a happy and hungry smile.

Jackie looked from the spot the Buttercup Scout was to Jade who was starting to watch the TV on the front desk. He switched it off. "Hey," she said, annoyed. "It was getting good!"

"I think I found you a hobby, Jade. Buttercup Scouts!"

Jade blinked twice when she heard her uncle say that. "This...is a joke, right?"

"It's adventurous, but not dangerous."

* * *

The next thing Jade knew, she had been drafted into the Buttercup Scouts and was wearing the same uniform the girl who delivered the cookies wore. On the sash was her first Buttercup badge for tying knots. And right now, she was red in the face and very cross at Jackie. "Oh, you look so cute," Jackie cooed when she met him and Tohru in the kitchen. Tohru whispered something in his ear. "Uh...I mean, cool!"

"I look like an elf," Jade groaned.

"I heard that scouting builds character," Tohru said as he munched on his cookies. "I have also heard that scouts receive a discount on cookies."

Jade jumped onto Jackie, gripped his shirt's collar and whined, "Jackie, I don't wanna be a Buttercup Scout! It's gonna be boring!"

"Please, Jade," Jackie insisted as he set her down. "Just give it a chance. You'll never know until you try."

"Tch. Wanna bet?"

"Jackie!" Uncle called out from the study. "Come see!" He had been searching for references the necklace Jackie found in Italy and he found a page about it in one of his books. "Necklace has name: the Eye of Aurora."

"Ah," Jackie said, remembering the story. "Aurora was an Egyptian princess, said to - "

"Getting into that!" Uncle interrupted. "Aurora was ancient Egyptian princess," he read his book. "Necklace given to her by sorcerer. Possesses magical powers of teleportation. Travel anywhere in the blink of eye!" Jade's face made a mischievous grin when she overheard that.

"But why would Princess Aurora - "

"Getting to that!" Uncle interrupted Jackie again. "Princess was greedy. Used necklace to travel world and steal treasure from rivals."

"Ah, no wonder Vanessa Barone is so eager to get her hands on it."

"Getting to... Who?"

"A 'nice lady' I met in Venice."

* * *

Jackie dropped Jade off at the Buttercup Scout camp some time later. She groaned in boredom as she approached the front gate. It was your typical camp with cabins, a mess hall, a latrine and a flagpole that had a PA system; on the flagpole was a USA flag and a green flag with a buttercup flower in the center.

"Are you Jade Chan?" an African American woman asked. She was wearing an orange shirt and khaki shorts. In her hand was a clipboard with a list of names.

"Yeah," Jade droned.

"Great! Why did it take so long to sign up?"

"Tch. Because Uncle Jackie lost his wallet in Italy."

"Oh," the woman, slightly surprised. "Well, if you would be so kind as to follow me, I'll show you to your cabin."

Jade followed the woman to the cabin where five other girls were already unpacking their things. "Hey, I recognize you," one of them said.

Jade remembered, "Wait, didn't you sell us cookies yesterday?"

"Yep! Oh, and tell that big guy I said thanks for the money. I bought a PS2 with it!"

"Really? Lucky. I still have a Dreamcast." Jade scratched the back of her head.

"Maybe we can play together later. I'm Sasha, by the way." She extended her hand.

"Jade." The two girls shook hands. "So...uh...what do Buttercup Scouts do for fun around here?"

"Oh, all sorts of things! Tying advanced knot work, quilting, arts and crafts..."

Jade groaned. "Oh, that sounds exciting," she said sarcastically and crossed her arms.

"Actually, as per camp tradition, the newcomers get to decide what we make in arts and crafts."

That cheered Jade up a little. "Oh, really?" She made a mischievous smirk. "Why don't we we try this?"

She whispered something in Sasha's ear, making her raise an eyebrow. "Really? Why that? Normally we make stuff like bird feeders."

"I thought the newcomers get to decide what we make?"

Sasha looked uncertain. "Uh...yes. Well," she said with a smile. "On the bright side, we will make something different this year. But if we do this, we have to do it before we go on our camping trip at Summit Hill. Now if only we had a mom."

"A mom?"

"It's our troop leader. Although," Sasha said, taking out her rule book. "Technically it's an umbrella term. A Buttercup troop leader can be a mom, dad, uncle... They can even be volunteers from outside camp. So long as they're eighteen years or older and have outdoors experience."

Jade formed a mischievous smile. "Oh, really?"

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Sasha asked as she, Jade and the other scouts knocked on the door to Uncle's Rare Finds.

"Sure, I'm sure," Jade said as she put on her mask. "Uncle loves pranks." Sasha shrugged then she and the other girls put on their masks.

"Who is there?" the girls heard Uncle on the other side of the door. The girls said nothing and resumed knocking. "Warning you! Uncle may be thin but he is scrappy!" The door slowly opened...

"RAAAGGGHHH!" roared the girls.

"WAAAAHHHH! EVIL DEMONS!" Uncle slammed the door in their faces.

"I thought you said he liked pranks."

"Are you kidding? Did you see the way he jumped? Now come on, help me open this door," Jade said as she pushed it open.

"Go away, shoo!" Uncle shouted, whacking at her with a feather duster. The door slammed again. Finally, Jade had enough. She charged at the door and gave it a karate kick. It slammed open and Uncle mad a weird martial arts position with the feather duster...then calmed when he saw the group of girls wearing the painted cardboard masks.

"Chill Uncle," Jade assured him as she and the other girls took off their masks. "It's just us...Buttercup Scouts."

"We were gonna build bird feeders but Jade talked us into making masks. Don't they look scary?" Sasha asked with a grin.

"Scary?" the old man scoffed. "Uncle's heart always pulse like a jackhammer!"

"Ugh. Just trying to whip up a little excitement!" Jade groaned.

At that moment, Jackie entered the room. "Why are you all here?" he asked. "Don't you have a camping trip today?"

"Uh-huh," said his niece with a hint of mischief. "Oh, gee! Didn't I tell you, Jackie? You're today's Buttercup Mom!"

The adventurer archeologist stuttered, flabbergasted. "Me? I cannot be a Buttercup Mom! I'm not even a mom."

"Actually, the rule book's pretty gray on that subject mom. A Buttercup troop leader can be a mom, a dad, an uncle, whatever! They even have a uniform in your size!" Jade showed him a uniform consisting of an orange shirt and khaki shorts. "Come on, Jackie. Just give it a chance. You'll never know until you try." She walked up to him and pulled him down to her level. "How about it, Jackie?" she whispered. "You and me both turn in our Buttercup badges right now, leave this whole dopey idea behind, head for the nearest pyramid or..."

But Jackie right through her. This was payback for him signing her up for the Buttercup Scouts. Well, he was going to make the most of it. "No, Jade," he said. "This camping trip is a chance for you and I to have fun together! Without bad guys," he added. The smirk he made as he took his new uniform told Jade her plan failed.

"I try to get out and they keep pulling me back in."

"And without any TV," Jackie added.

* * *

Soon the bus arrived and Jackie, now wearing his new (and a bit snug) uniform, called out, "Okay Buttercup Scouts! All aboard!"

Jade stayed behind to grab her backpack, when she eyed the shoebox the Eye of Aurora was kept in. "Maybe there's a way to spice this trip after all..."

She placed the necklace in her backpack and ran to the bus. To pass the time, Jackie and the scouts sang Kumbaya. Jade sighed. She wished she could have brought her Demon Archive with her.

* * *

One of the first things Jackie taught the scouts when they arrived at the camp sight was how to pitch a tent. "And that is how you tie a bolo line knot," Jackie said. "Who wants to try?" All the girls raised their hands. "All right, Tara and Dana will go first." Two girls, one with blonde hair and with with dark pigtails and glasses walked over to the tent. "Isn't this fun?"

The other girls cheered. Jade just grumbled, "Gathering wood, chasing butterflies and tying knots. Oh yeah, a real party."

Jackie said, "Jade, the first rule of scouting is always be prepared. You'll never know when knot tying might come in handy."

"I'll remember that. When I join the Navy."

Jackie frowned a little before standing up. "Maybe I should give you a special assignment."

"Really?" Jade asked, a little more excited. "Cool! What is it?"

Jackie handed her some canteens. "The canteens need refilling."

And just like that, the excitement was gone. "You want me to fetch water?"

"Yes, please." Jade glared at Jackie. "There's a stream behind those trees," he said. "And please don't wander off!"

Jade walked behind the line of trees and dropped the canteens haphazardly. "Tch. We're a mile from the mall! What's he think? I'm gonna make a prison break," she muttered as she took the necklace from her pocket. "Hop in my getaway car and return to Siberia?"

Suddenly, she was seeing white. Actually, she was seeing white because she was in some place covered in snow. "Weird! Siberia!" She looked at the necklace and realized it was the reason she was now on the other side of the world. "This thing's awesome!" It was then she realized she wasn't alone. Nearby was a pack of sleeping wolves. Her eyes widened. She slowly backed away from them, but the snow beneath her feet crunched loudly. The wolves' ears perked up and their eyes opened.

They growled at her, slowly getting up and stalking toward her. In that instant, Jade's skin turned blue and her eyes turned red. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" she hissed. "Not me!" She opened her palm and a ball of dark energy shot out and blasted near the wolves' feet. They yelped and took off running. Jade's eyes and skin returned to normal as she glared at the necklace. "Now, take me back home!" Nothing happened. "Take me to Honolulu!" Nothing. "Miami! Moose World! ANYTHING!" Nothing.

"RRRRAAAAGH! Stupid piece of junk!" She threw it at the ground and she sat on a nearby log. "Think, Jade! What did I say that made it take me to this frozen wasteland?" Then she remembered. "I see." She picked up the necklace. "Return to Uncle's Rare Finds." In an instant, she was sitting on the counter of the shop; Uncle and Tohru were there. "Hey! It worked!"

Uncle gasped. Then he asked, "Where is Jackie?"

"At the camp site," Jade answered nonchalantly before saying excitedly, "I figured out the necklace! You just say the words, 'Return to' and whatever say next is where you go! Like this! Return to Uncle's side!" In an instant, Jade found herself standing next to Uncle.

"BAH! Do not do that again! Wait! Do that again! Must go warn Jackie! Bad lady headed his way!"

"No problem. Return to Summit Hill!"

* * *

Jade found herself back in Summit Hill. In that instant, a whip snatched the necklace out of her hand and into the grasp of a woman with long blonde hair tied in a pony tail and wearing a red coat. This was probably that Vanessa woman Jackie talked about earlier. "Ah, express delivery," she said with a wicked smile. "How thoughtful."

Jade growled and charged at her.

"Well, Chan," Vanessa said to Jackie, who for some reason was wrapped up like a mummy. "I'd like to stay and chat, but by the looks of things you're all wrapped up. So, ta-ta!" Jade kicked the necklace out of her hands and it flew into Jackie's.

Vanessa cracked the whip at him, but he managed to hop out of the way. Then the whip snagged onto the bandage and with a tug, Vanessa unintentionally unwound Jackie. "Thanks for the lesson in bandage removal," he said, a little dizzy. "See girls?" he asked the scouts, who were hiding behind a tree. "Quick and painless!"

Vanessa grabbed the necklace and held it in her hand. Jackie charged at her when he paused and said, "Buttercup Scouts! Don't watch! Too violent!"

"Tch," said Sasha. "As if!" The other scouts nodded in agreement.

Jackie tried to sneak up on her, but Vanessa kicked him in in the stomach. "Oooh!" the scouts and Jade winced. "Sayonara," Vanessa said with a smirk. "It's been a kick. Return to Peru!" In the last minute, Jackie grabbed the necklace and they both disappeared.

"What just happened," Sasha exclaimed.

"Oh, it's just another day in the life of Uncle Jackie," Jade said with a smile. She sat on a log and crossed her arms. "Hunting treasure, fighting bad guys, fighting wizards, the works."

"Wizards?" Amy, an Asian American girl with bangs asked. "Yeah right."

"You just saw Jackie literally kick butt...and literally get his butt kicked. It coms with the territory."

"That's so cool," Sasha said. "Do you go on his adventures?"

"Duh! Where else do you think I learned this?" Jade did some martial arts moves before ending with a bow.

"Well, I know what new activity the Buttercup Scouts will be doing. Tae kwon do! Uh, assuming you'll be there?"

"Thanks, but I got Jackie to teach me that and more." Suddenly, Jackie fell out of a tree. "Jackie! You're back!"

He spat out a leaf and groaned. "Yes, but so is she!"

Vanessa dropped from the tree and held up the necklace. "And I have the necklace. Return to Venice!" Nothing happened.

"Correction," Jackie said, holding up the necklace. Wait. What? "You have _half_ of the necklace!"

Vanessa cracked the whip, but Jackie grabbed it and tried to tug it out of her hand. "Come on Jackie," whispered Jade. "Now's our chance!"

"Please Jade," he whispered back. "I need you to stay with the others! I have a plan!" He gave her a wink. Then he stood up and let go of the whip. "Okay! I give up! No more fighting!"

The scouts and Jade went, "WHAT?!" "That's his plan?!" Sasha exclaimed, outraged.

Jade made a psst! sound. "Hey, girls, huddle up. I got a plan."

* * *

"What's the catch?" Vanessa asked, suspicious.

"No catch," Jackie said, cautiously walking to her. "As you said, I am responsible for the safety of these girls. If you promise to leave, I will give you the other half of the necklace and tell you where to find an amazing treasure."

Vanessa raised her eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"A small island off the coast of Chile. Very remote," Jackie said. "Demolition Island." No, that wasn't it. "Devotion Island?"

The whip-carrying thief smirked, "Desolation Island. Nice try, Chan. Thought you could trick me into traveling to one of the most remote spots on Earth?"

"No, really, I..."

"I'd wager that you were planning on alerting the authorities to fly in and pick me up the moment I got there?"

Jackie sighed. "Actually, I was going to touch the two necklace halves together then pull my half back, so you will be teleported and stranded. But you are two clever to say back to Desolation Island."

Vanessa scoffed. "It's _return_ to Desolation Island," she corrected. Then she realized her mistake when Jackie touched the two halves at that exact moment. What happened next, no one anticipated.

"GRAB HER!" Jade shouted. She and the other scouts tackled her to the ground and...

* * *

"Hey, where are we?" Sasha asked. Jade and the Buttercup Scouts looked around. They were on a beach of some sort, but definitely not Honolulu or Malibu. In fact, there were no traces of any people.

"Uh," Jade said. "If I had to guess, we're on Desolation Island."

"Nice going Jade," Dana said sarcastically.

"Some plan," Tara said with the same sarcastic tone. "Now we're stuck on an unknown island and..."

"YOU!" The girls turned. Vanessa was there, holding her half of the Eye of Aurora in one hand and her whip in the other. "Look what you did, you little brats!"

"Us? You're the one who dragged us here in the middle of nowhere," Jade shouted.

"You little brat!" Vanessa was about to whip her when suddenly, someone pushed her. She turned around. The other scouts stood behind her, with brave looks on their faces. But she could see their legs trembling. "Aw, how cute. You think you can stop me?"

"No, but I can!" Jade karate kicked her in the head and knocked her out cold. "Hurry," she shouted, grabbing the whip. "Tie her up!" The other scouts helped her and made sure to tie her hands together good and tight. "Heh. Jackie was right. Knot tying _did_ come in handy."

"Well, we stopped the bad guy," Riley, a girl with brown curly hair said. "But we're still in the middle of nowhere!"

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Tara asked, tears starting to leak. "I wanna go home!"

"My parents are going to flip!" Dana exclaimed, on the verge of crying as well.

Finally, all the scouts started crying until finally Jade shouted, "ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to face her. "I thought you guys were outdoorsmen! Er...women."

"Yeah, in the forest of the United States!" Amy said. "Not tropical islands! There's a difference!"

Jade made a face. "Really? Did you learn stuff like oh, I don't know, making a shelter, or a hammock or looking for food?"

The scouts looked at each other. "Well, we did, but..."

"No buts! We're going to have to wait until Jackie finds us."

"How long will that be?" Riley asked.

Jade did some math in her head. "Three days at least."

"We can't wait that long!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Do you have another plan?" Sasha didn't respond. "I didn't think so. So, I guess the first thing we should do is make a shelter." She looked around. "Those palm tree fronds will do."

"How do you know that?"

"I watched an episode of Robinson Crusoe."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Jade finished tying the roof together. She hopped off and knocked on it. "Sturdy as a beaver's dam."

"I still can't believe you did that," Sasha said, pointing to Jade's new skirt of leaves. "Sacrificing your uniform to keep our shelter together."

"Practicality versus fashion," Jade said with a shrug. "We got the shelter, one large to accommodate all of us. Now all we need is..." She heard her stomach growl. "Uh, anyone know how to fish?"


	9. Chapter 9

Jade and the scouts munched happily on the fish they cooked that night. Jade hated to admit it, but Jackie was right. This scout thing was pretty fun. But not as fun as controlling an army of Shadowkhan.

"That mean lady's awake," Dana said. The group turned to look at Vanessa Barone, who was sitting on her knees with her hands still tied and glaring at them. "What are we gonna do?"

"What _can_ she do?" Jade asked. "That necklace is broken so she's not getting off this island."

"What if she tries to attack us?" Sasha asked, worried.

Jade shrugged her shoulders. "What has she to gain from killing a bunch of kids?"

The kids resumed eating their meals. Soon, there was a growling sound. The girls huddled around Jade. "What was that?" Tara asked, afraid.

"It sounds close," Riley whimpered.

They heard the growl again. She was right. It was real close! The girls looked in the direction of the noise and they realized it was Vanessa's stomach. "Oh," was all Jade said. "Not to worry."

"I don't know about this," Sasha said. "It feels wrong."

"She tried to hurt my Uncle Jackie. Don't feel bad for bad guys."

"Still, a Buttercup Scout should help those in need. It's in the guide."

"Tch. You help the bad guy then."

Cautiously, Sasha approached the bound thief and held out a cooked fish on a stick. "Oh, goody," Vanessa said sarcastically. "Food. If only I had my hands to hold it."

The girl placed the fish just in front of her before returning to the fire. Vanessa just looked at the fish for a minute.

"So," Jade asked Sasha. "How is our prisoner?"

"Mean."

"Not surprised."

The girls resumed eating, not talking much. Then Riley said, "You know, we usually sing campfire stories at this time at night back at Buttercup Camp."

"You want to hear stories?" Jade asked. "Wait until you hear my stories of my adventures with Uncle Jackie!"

"Like what?" Dana asked.

"Oh, where do I begin? Well, there's the time Uncle Jackie got turned into a puppet..."

* * *

"...and then we turned the Monkey King back into a puppet and buried him under cement. I don't think anyone will notice that an evil monkey puppet is under the floor of an office building."

"And you say this happened for real?" Amy asked. "Yeah right."

"Hey! You just saw Jackie and Vanessa fight over a magic necklace that can take them anywhere! What do you say to that?"

"I honestly don't know. Magic isn't something normal people talk about!"

Jade made a smirk. "And that's why I like my life. It's not normal at all! Not like a boring Buttercup Scout."

"If you think the Buttercup Scouts are boring, why did you even sign up?"

"Tch. I didn't. Jackie said I needed a 'hobby'," Jade air quoted the last word. "And now, here I am, stuck on an island until he arrives."

There was a moment's silence. Then Riley said, "Can I confess?" Everyone's attention was on her. "I joined the Buttercup Scouts for the same reason. 'You watch too much TV,' Mom says! 'You need to go outdoors more often,' Mom says!"

"My dad said the same thing," Tara said. "Although it was less like too much TV and more like too much visits to the mall."

All the girls laughed. Jade sighed with content. "Yep. My life is the coolest."

"I'm a little jealous right now," Sasha said. "I wish I had a cool uncle, too."

"Don't we all?" Jade asked. "Don't we all..."

* * *

Later on, the girls had finished their meals, the fish reduced to skeletons. "So, what do we do now?" Jade asked.

"Normally after we tell our stories," Sash said. "We close things off by singing a song."

"Well, I don't know any campfire songs."

"I think I got a campfire song book with me," Dana said, searching her pockets. "Here it is. What shall we sing?"

"How about _Country Roads_?" Sasha suggested.

"What about _Don't Fence Me In_?" asked Tara.

"Boring," said Jade. "How about _Tomorrow Comes Today_?"

Dana looked in her book. "That's not a campfire song."

"Well, let me introduce you to a new song." Jade coughed a little and began to sing.

 _Everybody's here with me_  
 _Got no camera to see_  
 _Don't think I'm all in this world_  
 _The camera won't let me go_  
 _The verdict don't love our soul_  
 _The digital won't let me go_

 _Yeah, yeah, yeah_  
 _I'll pay (yeah, yeah, yeah)_  
 _When tomorrow_  
 _Tomorrow comes today_

As Jade sang, the other girls began to hum along with her.

 _Stereo I want it on_  
 _It's taken me far too long_  
 _Don't think I'm all in this world_  
 _I don't think I'll be here too long_  
 _I don't think I'll be here too long_  
 _I don't think I'll be here too long_

 _Yeah, yeah, yeah_  
 _I'll pay_  
 _When tomorrow_  
 _Tomorrow comes today_

The whole island echoed with the sound of little children singing.

* * *

The Buttercup Scouts kicked their shoes off and placed them outside the door of their shelter. They entered and settled into their beds made out of leaves they found around the island. All except for Sasha, who turned to look at Vanessa who was still sitting on her knees, looking down at the ground. Beside her was a fish skeleton. "Hey," Sasha said. "Are you cold?"

Vanessa glared at the girl. "I don't want your kindness, girl."

"I don't want you to get a cold, that's all. Don't you want to come inside?"

Vanessa laughed. "A cold? I've survived prisons far worse than this island. And the prison guards were less annoying."

Sasha made a sympathetic face. "Won't you please come?"

"Bah. And you think I won't hurt you the second you fall asleep?"

The girl sighed. "Honestly, I don't trust you. But I would feel bad leaving you out in the cold."

Vanessa groaned. "Fine." She followed the girl into the shelter. The other girls were asleep, but not Jade. She was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed and frowning.

"I've got my eye on you," she said, giving her the "I'm watching you" finger-eye gesture.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Vanessa said. "Just let me sleep in my spot." And she went to sit in a corner of the hut, legs curled into her chest.

"I still don't like this," Jade said.

"Neither do I, but my conscious won't forgive me."

Jade sighed before going to bed and Sasha followed suit.

* * *

While the girls slept, Jade's eyes opened, glowing red and skin turning blue. Making sure everyone was asleep, she floated a few inches off the ground and hovered out of the shelter. She concentrated on her powers and three Shadowkhan appeared. She gave them their orders, "Bring us some blankets and food. We're going to be here for a while." The Shadowkhan bowed and vanished into the darkness. She looked back at the shelter. "No one's seen me. Good." She hovered into the jungle of the island, unaware that a pair of eyes followed her with amazement and a little fear.

Jade found a nice secluded spot and decided now would be a good time to train. "Let's see if I can't get this flying thing down without crashing into anything this time." She jumped up into the air and began to fly over the tree tops, then began circling around the island a couple of times. "Okay, now for the landing. Please don't crash, please don't crash, please don't crash!" She tried to land feet first, but she was coming in way too fast, she began kicking her legs rapidly, making her gently hover down until her feet touched the ground. She looked around then cheered, "Yes! I landed without crashing!"

She began doing a victory dance, humming a happy tune. Three Shadowkhan appeared out of nowhere and held up signs that said things like, "Go Jade, go!" and "Long live the Queen!"

"Oh, yeah! Who rocks, I do!" She hit a tree in her excitement, causing some coconuts to fall down on her head. She let out a growl and punched the tree, causing it to explode in a blast of purple fire and smoke. "Stupid tree, throwing off my groove," she grumbled before walking back to the shelter.


	10. Chapter 10

Jade awoke with a yawn and stretched her arms as she did. She rubbed her eyes and smacked her lips as she walked out of the shelter. It was then she heard the sound of giggling outside. Curious, she went outside to find some of the Buttercup Scouts lying in hammocks (which Jade showed how to make the day prior) and drinking from coconuts while the others were gathering sea shells. "Where did you get those?" Jade asked.

"Amy knocked them out of a tree with a big stick." Sasha said as she handed her a coconut. "And we found some sea shells, so we decided to do an activity we do when we go to beach trips..." She held up some sea shells. "Necklace making!"

Jade groaned. "Oh, how fun," she said sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not like what you do for fun, but it's still productive. Give it a try." Sasha resumed picking up shells. She suddenly felt a presence next to her and turned to see Jade squatting next to her.

"So," she asked. "How do you make necklaces?"

Sasha beamed. "First of all, gather your own sea shells."

* * *

Jade and Sasha regrouped with the others at the shelter, who were comparing their shells. Who had the biggest? Who had the prettiest? Stuff like that.

"Well, we got the shells," Jade said, setting her collection down on the floor. "Now what do we do?"

"Next," said Sasha. "We poke a hole in the shell, one small enough to allow string to go through it. But we have to do it very carefully without breaking the shell."

"Uh, question. Where do we get string?" That question left the girls silent. "I thought so."

"You could use the strings in your socks." Everyone turned their attention to Vanessa, who was sitting in her corner. "You can take apart their fabric and use them to make the necklaces."

"Who asked you?" Jade asked.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Riley said. "Well, except for the fact that mom might kill me if she finds out I ruined my new socks."

"Tch. Like we're going to listen to you," Jade muttered at the villainess.

"What? I'm just giving you some advice."

"We don't need your advice!"

"It's not hurting anything," Dana said. "Well, except for our clothes."

The scouts took their socks off and began tearing them to get the stings. Jade stayed behind to gave Vanessa a glare and did the "I've got my eyes on you." gesture. Vanessa just chuckled.

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Sasha asked, showing the girls her necklace. The other scouts showed off their necklaces, looking very pleased with themselves. All except Jade, who frowned at her creation.

"Uh, Jade? That looks more like a tangled fishing line than a necklace," Tara teased. The other scouts giggled.

Jade just frowned and tossed the necklace to the ground. "Thanks for the critique." She stormed out of the shelter with a huff.

"Jade! Wait!" Riley and Sasha ran out the shelter, but Jade was gone. "Nice going," Riley snapped at Amy.

"What? I was just telling like it is. Not my fault she can't handle a little criticism."

* * *

The scouts followed Jade's footprints in the sand, deep into the jungle and into a cave in a rocky wall. They found her sitting against a wall, her legs tucked into her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

"Jade?" Dana said softly. "Amy wants to say sorry for teasing you."

"Tch. I'm used to it at school. It's no different."

Tara sat next to Jade. "What do you mean?"

"A boy at school, Drew. He and his friends never believe my stories. I try to show them proof, but Jackie says it's too dangerous." Jade imitated her uncle. "Like nearly falling into a pit of spikes isn't dangerous."

"Isn't it?" Tara asked.

"Duh! But I always save Jackie," Jade said, folding her arms and smirking.

"That's...not what I meant."

"Look, I want to say I'm sorry," Amy said. "And, if it makes you feel any better, I do believe in you. Everyone does."

"Really?" Jade asked.

"Hey, I saw your uncle take out a thief with a magic necklace. Anyone would believe after seeing that."

Jade smiled. "I thought you guys were just pulling my leg before."

"A Buttercup Scout is always honest with her fellow scout."

* * *

Sasha heard yells coming outside the shelter. She could see Jade swinging a long stick and twirling it like a baton before performing a series of jabs. "Are you trying to be a cheerleader?" she asked. "Because that's not how you use a baton."

"Cheerleading?" Jade asked, sticking out her tongue. "Yeah, right! I'm practicing my martial arts! I don't want to get slouchy."

Sasha sat on a log and watched Jade practice her moves on a nearby palm tree. Soon, she was joined by the other scouts, sitting on the log and watching Jade practice until they thought her hands were getting blisters. Eventually, she got tired and she put the stuck down and placed a hand on the tree, panting heavily. "Well, that's enough for right now." She turned to the girls. "Hey, maybe one of you could be my sparing partner? I got a spare stick!"

The girls took one look and took off running.

"Wimps."

* * *

"Hey, Jade, check it out!" Jade had returned from gathering fruits she found in the trees to find the scouts presenting a large orange banner with a yellow flower in the center.

"What is that?" Jade asked. "Looks like a giant grandma's handkerchief."

"It's the flag of the Buttercup Scouts, silly," Tara said. "We're hoping a ship can spot it."

"Trust me. No one is going to miss that. How did you make it?" It was then she realized they were wearing leaf skirts and were missing their hats. "Oh."

"We learned how to sew patches back at camp," said Dana. "We borrowed the needle and string from Vanessa."

"Vanessa?" Jade frowned and folded her arms. "You're trusting the bad guys now?"

"She's not bad," Amy exclaimed, before correcting herself. "Okay, she is that bad. She's tolerable if anything."

"Tch. Like a flea is tolerable to a dog."

* * *

Night soon came and it was time for dinner. The girls caught their fish and started the fire. "I think I might develop a craving for fish after this," Sasha said.

"You should try sushi," Jade said.

"Ick," Dana gagged. "I won't eat anything raw."

The girls laughed. "So, shall we sing another song to pass the time?" Amy asked.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind telling a ghost story," Jade said.

"Well, I know one," Tara said. She cleared her throat. "Once, there was a couple going to make-out park-"

"Hook on the hand," Jade exclaimed.

"My turn," Tara said. "There was a babysitter-"

"Man in the attic," said Jade.

"Okay, fine," Sash said, losing her patience. "If you know so much, why don't you tell one?"

"Gladly. Once, me and Uncle were visiting Paco and El Toro Fuerte Mexico-"

"Amy gets bored and gives Jade a wedgie," Amy blurted out. Then she said, "Sorry. Please go on."

* * *

"...and then Jackie threw the potion into El Toro's mouth and as the sun rose, we all watched as he turned back into a human. And on that day, Jackie won bragging rights, no matter what Paco says!" Jade finished her story. The other scouts were huddled together, both afraid and amazed. "But..." Jade lowered her voice. "...even though we destroyed the Chupacabra that cursed El Toro and cured him, we don't know if there are other Chupacabras out there. Hunting for goats, cursing people... They could be anyone. Anywhere. Any... THERE!" The girls turned around and saw a black humanoid monster with red eyes. They screamed and Jade burst out laughing. "Oh, this is the funnest night in my life so far!"

The girls looked again. The monster was gone!

Dana laughed. "Now _that_ was a scary story! Bravo, Jade!"

The girls applauded and Jade bowed.

"How did you do that monster effect?" Sasha asked.

"I'm a girl with many talents," Jade said, lying down on the sand with her hands behind her head. She chuckled to herself. She wondered if she could use the Shadowkhan as part of a haunted house for Halloween.

"I wish I had those talents," Sasha said, lying next to her. "I would love to see how many badges I could get before being promoted."

"Promoted?"

"Yeah, Jade," Dana said as she and her friends liked down. "When we get enough badges, we're promoted to Honeysuckle Scouts. That practically makes us troop leader."

"You know," Tara said. "You have the potential of being a Honeysuckle Scout."

"Eh, sounds tempting, but no. Besides, how am I going to save Jackie whenever he gets in trouble while I'm in the scouts?"

"From the sounds of it," Amy said. "You're the one who needs saving."

Jade scoffed. "It's a fifty-fifty scenario!"

The other girls just laughed. They sighed. "Hey, Jade."

"Yeah, Sasha?"

"Do you ever learn anything about star gazing on your adventures? Early sailors used the stars as their compass." Sasha pointed up. "Like there. Can you see Polaris?"

Jade squinted. "You mean that little bright star on the left?"

"Yeah. It's also called the North Star. And over there. There's Orion."

"Tch. Everyone knows that."

"Well, do you know what that one is?" Amy pointed up at another star cluster. "There's the Big and Little Dippers."

Jade made a chuckle. "I can never figure out what they're supposed to be, a pair of ladles or long-handled pots?"

"Actually, they're bears," Tara said. "A mama bear and a baby bear. But it's all up to interpretation."

"When Uncle talks to my about the stars," said Jade. "He talks about how the Dippers and Draco are actually a man riding a chariot."

The scouts looked up at the sky. "I don't see it," said Tara.

"No! Look, the Little Dipper is the head, the chariot is the Big Dipper and Draco is the arms and horse whip! See?"

"Kind of..."

There was a moment's silence. Then Sasha asked, "Hey, Jade, the girls and I were thinking and...do you think you could teach us some of those moves?"

"I thought you didn't want to do it. You guys running away seemed to send a clear message."

"Well, we talked it over and we figured it might be a good way to cure our boredom."

Jade thought it over. "All right. But you're going to have to promise me you won't cry if you wind up on your butts in the sand."

"We'll try," said Tara.

Dana let out a yawn. "Well, I think it's time to go to bed, girls."

"I'm with you," Sasha said. "Let's go."

"Wouldn't it be nice to sleep in a bed with sheets again?"

"Oh, come on," Jade teased. "I thought you liked roughing it up in the outdoors, Amy."

"There's a limit to how much outdoors I can take."

* * *

While everyone slept, Jade crept out of the shelter and made her way to the center of the island. Her skin turned blue and her eyes glowed red as dark smoke started coming out of her palms. With a single thought, ten Shadowkhan appeared. "Let's try some target practice." Some Shadowkhan lifted some heavy boulders off the ground and uprooted some trees. "Okay. Heave!"

With some effort, they tossed the trees and rocks up into the sky. Jade pointed her finger up and said, "Bang." A blast of energy fired out from her finger and blew up the rock into pieces. "Nice," she said with a grin. She fired a few more times, destroying the trees and rocks before they hit the ground. "Excellent. Now, why don't we try doing that with some moving targets?" The Shadowkhan obliged and brought some seagulls. "Not what I had in mind, but..." They released the birds and Jade began shooting them down like a hunter. "Well, now we got some southern fried seagull for breakfast tomorrow." She dismissed the Shadowkhan and her skin and eyes returned to normal as she went back to the shelter.

As she crawled into the makeshift bed and went to sleep, she was unaware of a pair of eyes watching her. "Well, well," the stalker said. "You're full of more surprises. Maybe I can use that to leave this rock."


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay, who's ready?" Jade asked the next morning. She had drawn a large ring in the sand with a stick she had in her hand. She held it like a lance and pointed it at the challenger, Dana. In her hand was another stick and it looked as though she did not want to be here. Which she didn't.

"Er...can I have a say in this?" she asked.

"Hey, you drew the shortest straw," Amy said. "Now move it!"

"Ohhh..." Dana gulped and stepped into the ring. "Now what?"

"We bow," Jade said, lowering her body. Dana mimicked her. "And now..."

"Wait! Can I say something?"

"ATTACK!" Jade jumped into the air and was about to strike Dana, but she swung at the air instead as Dana took off running. "I guess that means you're out."

"I wasn't ready!" Dana shouted before finally finding the courage to step back into the ring. "Okay. Please take it easy."

"Kick her butt, Dana," Amy shouted.

"Knock her brains out," Sasha cheered on.

Dana felt a little more confident and she held her stick like a sword. "Okay."

Jade swung her staff, but Dana blocked it, pushed her back and swung the stick, but Jade did not back down. Jade swung the staff, trying to get a beat on her, but she was so fast, Jade couldn't even touch her. Still, she left herself wide open. With a quick sweep, Jade knocked Dana off her feet and pointed the staff at her. "I win."

"Best two out of three?" Dana asked as she stood up.

* * *

"Oof!" Dana fell flat on her face.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Jade said as she helped her up. "You actually managed to hit me that one time. Too bad you didn't knock me off my feet. Wanna go again?"

"No way! I think I pulled something that time!" Dana dropped the stick and marched off.

Jade shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, well. Who's next?"

Sasha stepped forward and picked up the stick. "I don't know much about what you know, but I won't lose!"

Jade smirked. "Bring it."

Sasha swung the stick at Jade, catching her off guard and forcing her to block. Jade blocked more of her attacks then when she saw an opening, she took a jab at Sasha's stomach. Sasha groaned and put a hand on her belly. Jade jumped into the air and tried to smack her upside the head, but Sasha rolled out of the way and hit Jade from behind with the stick.

Jade mentally growled as she thought, _She's not going to give me a chance to counter. In that case..._ A shadowy tendril snaked up Sasha's leg and pinned her foot down. "What the..." Distracted, Sasha did not see the staff coming and she fell to the ground.

"Oh, yeah! Who's bad?"

Sasha groaned as she stood up. "What was that? Something caught my leg!"

"Maybe you got stuck on a root?" Jade asked as she helped her up.

"No. Something popped out of the ground..." Sasha looked around. "It looked like a snake or something."

"Really? I don't see anything," Jade said, pretending to look innocent. Unbeknownst to her, Sasha was raising her eyebrow at her.

* * *

"Assistance please. Assistance!" the girls heard Tara call out. They found the girl in the shelter, lying on her bed with a look of pain on her face. Her beet red face.

"What's wrong with you?" Jade asked.

"Mother nature is soooo unforgiving."

"Can you sit up?" Amy asked.

"I'll try." Tara slowly stood up, groaning as she did. "Ow! Look at me!"

"Do we have to?" grimaced Amy.

"My mom is going to flip! Do you know what she's going to say?! 'Tara, you nincompoop! I told you to pack your sunscreen when you go on this trip!'"

"It's just a little sunburn," Jade said.

"Don't toy with me, Jade! I'll be shedding for weeks!"

"Welcome to the great outdoors, my friend. What a whiner."

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that," said Sasha. "You're looking a little red, too." Jade looked down at her arms. Indeed, they were turning a little red, and now that she thought of it, she felt itchy. In fact, the only person on this island who wasn't red and itchy was Vanessa Barone.

Dana sighed. "It's too bad we don't have any aloe vera."

"There is some in my bag," Vanessa said. "You can use it."

Dana nodded and ran to get the bottle of the soothing lotion. Tara let out a yelp as she applied it to her red skin. Jade meanwhile, just gave Vanessa a suspicious frown. The treasure hunter smirked at her.

* * *

Jade sat on a branch of a tree while Tara, Dana and Amy played on the beach. She wondered where to go from here next when she heard Sasha's voice say, "Hey, whatcha doing?"

"Oh, just resting. Wondering what new adventures will await me once I get off this boring island."

"Well, we're going to go back to the camp after this whole thing blows over. There's still a spot for you, you know."

"Eh, thanks, but no. I still want to live the life of an adventurer."

Sasha made a disappointed face, then she made a smile and said, "I understand. Being a Buttercup Scout is not enough for a cool kid like you."

Jade looked down. "You think I'm cool?"

"Of course! Although, truth be told, I am going to be a little sad when you leave."

Jade thought it over. "We could always come here. The entire troop. It would be our vacation hideaway."

"How will we do that?"

"I have my ways."

"You can tell me. I am your friend, after all. We all are."

Jade made a smile. "Wow. That's...really..."

Suddenly, there was a loud scream followed by sobbing. Jade and Sasha took off running to the source of the sound: Dana writhing in pain while Tara and Amy tried to keep her still.

"What happened?!" Sasha exclaimed.

"I was picking sea shells," Dana sobbed. "And something stabbed my foot!" On the ankle of her left foot was a bloody wound.

"It looks like she's been stung by a stingray," said a voice. The scouts turned to see Vanessa, free from her bounds.

"How did you get loose?!" Jade exclaimed.

"Please. I've escaped worse. Like I was going to be bound by a bunch of Girl Scouts." Vanessa inspected Dana's wound. "Oh, yeah, this is really bad. We have to cure this right away."

"How are we gonna do that?" Amy asked. "We're right in the middle of nowhere!"

"There's a plant on this island that acts as an antidote for poisons and venoms. It grows in the center of the island." She stood up and started walking only to be stopped by Jade. "What?"

"And why should we trust you to get it?"

"Because I'm the only one who knows what it looks like," Vanessa snapped. "Now, stay here and help your friend. Apply some pressure to the wound, it should leak out some of the venom."

"Nuh-uh! I'm not trusting a bad guy with my new friends! I'm coming with you!"

Vanessa just laughed. "You're just a kid who's in way over your head." She ruffled Jade's hair before walking into the jungle.

Dana continued whimpering as her friends applied pressure to her wound. "It's really bad," Amy said. "We really need to get her to a hospital."

"But Vanessa says she can find that plant!"

"Can we really trust her, Sasha?"

"Well, no, but it's better than nothing, right Jade?" No one answered. "Jade?"

Amy looked up. "Hey, where did she go?"

* * *

Vanessa growled as she trudged through the jungle. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" She suddenly fell flat on her face. Groaning, she looked and saw that she tripped on a root. "I hate this jungle." She parted pushed some bushes aside and walked to another beach where a handmade raft with the Butterfly Scouts flag as a sail and bags of fruit were waiting. "It's a good thing I managed to build this while everyone wasn't looking." She scoffed. "Stupid kids. I've escaped from worse prisons than this. In fact, the only thing I couldn't stand was that annoying chatter!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, the raft exploded. "What?!"

"I knew there was something up with you." Vanessa looked around to see Jade coming out from a line of trees. "There is no plant on this island, is there?"

"Oh, there is," Vanessa said with a smirk. "But since you've ruined my only way off this island, there's no way I'm helping anyone!"

Jade wasn't falling for it at all. "Tch. Help? If you were helping, why didn't you tell us you built that raft?"

Vanessa crossed her arms behind her back, feeling the spare whip she kept in her sleeve. "I hate people like you, Jade. Too darn perceptive." She produced the whip and was about to strike the girl with it, only for it to be grabbed by a blue hand. "Huh?" Vanessa asked, dumbfounded. Holding the whip's end was a ninja garbed entirely in black with only the red eyes showing.

"You shouldn't have done that," Jade said, her skin turning blue and her eyes turning red. "My real friends don't like it when their Queen is in danger." With a snap of her fingers, Vanessa found herself surrounded by dozens of the ninjas.

She then chuckled. "So, I really wasn't seeing things when I was building my raft at night. You're full of surprises. You could have gotten off this island any time you wanted. Why stay?"

"Let's just say I have appearances to keep."

"What a coincidence. So do I!" She yanked the whip out of the ninja's grip and whipped its face, making it vanish. Then she slashed the whip at three more ninjas before they had a chance to pounce her. One ninja snuck up behind her and wrapped its arms around her, but she slammed it into a tree behind her, making it vanish.

Three of the ninjas tossed throwing stars at Vanessa, but she deflected them all back with a kick. They struck their owners, making them vanish. Another ninja tried to slash at her with a dagger, but she dodged all the attacks before grabbing its knife arm, twisting it at an awkward angle and making it stab itself, destroying it.

"Is that all you got," the treasure thief asked with a smirk until she felt a pair of hands grab her ankles and pull her down into her own shadow before she had a chance to scream.

"I learned that trick from Viper," Jade said with a smirk. Then she frowned as she remembered Dana, who's probably in agony at this point. "No time for subtly now." She vanished into the shadows and found herself in Sector 13, more specifically, the vault where the talismans were kept. She grabbed the one talisman she needed before she transported herself back to Desolation Island. She turned back to normal and ran back to her friends as soon as possible.

* * *

Jade found the girls in the shelter and Dana had taken a turn for the worse. She was whimpering with pain, sweating profusely and her foot was starting to swell and turn purple. "Whoa! How long have I been gone?"

"Where the heck were you?!" Sasha demanded. "Where's Vanessa and the plant?!"

Jade held out the ruined orange flag. "You're not going to believe this. Vanessa built a raft every night while we were sleeping and was planning on ditching us."

"What?!" exclaimed Tara. "But she helped us all those times."

"She was just buttering us up. I knew she couldn't be trusted."

"But what about Dana's medicine?" asked Tara.

"It didn't exist," Jade said. "It was just an excuse for her to escape the island without us."

"But Dana's..."

"I have an idea. Stand back." The other girls walked out of Jade's way and allowed her to stand next to the whimpering girl. She took out a hexagram-shaped stone with a horse carved into it. She placed the stone on Dana's foot and it began to glow. Slowly, Dana's foot began to deflate and its color turned back to normal. Then her breathing began to ease and slow. Finally, Jade lifted the stone off of her. "Done."

The other girls blinked in surprise. "How did you do that?!"

Jade smirked. "Horse for healing."

"Is that one of those talismans you talk about in your stories?" Sasha asked.

"Yep! Pretty cool, huh?"

The girls looked at each other. "Uh, can that cure sunburn as well?" asked Tara.

"Step right up! Dr. Jade is in the house!"

* * *

The girls found eventually found Vanessa after some further exploring. She was bound like a mummy and a pear was stuffed into her mouth. "Whoa, you really did a beating on her," commented Tara.

"She deserved it," Jade said. Vanessa flinched at the sound of her voice.

"Wait," Dana said. "Do you hear that?"

The girls listened. "You mean the sound of waves crashing?" Jade asked.

"No. I hear..." Dana's eyes widened. "A boat engine!"

The girls' felt excitement. Boat engine means... "Help has arrived!" They began laughing and singing and dancing. Jade then said, "Hey, I'm going to check it out. Stay here with the prisoner." The scouts saluted as she took off. "Oop!" she exclaimed, before putting the Horse Talisman in her shoe. "Don't want Jackie getting suspicious. Better put this back before anyone notices it's gone."

* * *

Jade found Jackie on the beach, calling her name. "Jackie!" He saw her, ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Where are the others?" he asked.

"With little miss globe trotter crook," Jade said, pointing behind her. The two found the scouts, playing on the beach with the bound and gagged Vanessa Barone still right where they left her.

Jackie smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Ah, you used those first aid skills I taught you."

"Actually, it was a little something I picked up on TV," said Jade. "'Robinson Crusoe Goes Hawaiian'."

"So how are we going to get home, Buttercup Mom Jackie?" asked Sasha asked.

Jackie led the girls to a tiny dingy. "No way that will hold us all," Jade pointed out.

"Ahem." Everyone looked to the right. There was Tohru, on a dingy big enough for everyone; nearby was a small yacht. "Hello!" he said cheerfully. The girls cheered.

"Tohru?" asked Jackie, confused.

"I was hoping to purchase some more cookies."

"Once we are back home, I will buy you all you can eat!" Jackie said, patting the large man's back.

* * *

The girls shared a cabin in the yacht Tohru rented. "Finally we're finally going home!" Dana exclaimed.

"So, what will be the first thing when you get home?" asked Jade.

"First," Dana said. "I'm going to be getting out of these leaves and back into real clothes."

"I hear you. I was a tad uncomfortable with these," Tara said. "I don't know how hula dancers put up with them."

"What about you?" Amy asked Sasha.

"I'll keep doing what I do best: being a Buttercup Scout and who knows, maybe I'll be a Honeysuckle Scout now that Jade is quitting."

Jade just shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. I can live with that."

"Well, if it means anything," Sasha said. "We're going to miss you."

Jade handed the scouts some slips of paper. "My number. Call me if you want to have a sleepover, or hang out or...whatever."

"Thanks."


	12. Chapter 12

"Let's see," Jade said as she read her book. "What do you think is the weirdest thing that's happened to me in the past couple of weeks? Being stuck on an island with a bunch of Girl Scouts with a whip-carrying thief, encountering a Yeti, or finding out Jackie's filling had an inscription that can control the Ganges River?"

"I still don't understand why you kept some of these treasures," Seymour said. "Who knows if they have a hidden power or two."

Jade just snorted. "They can keep the treasures. I am interested in far greater powers."

"You can't just rely on one Demon Archive alone," the disguised demon pointed out.

"Not with that attitude." She closed the book and hid it under the bed. "Now, let's return to our usual spot." Jade and Seymour transported themselves to the scrapyard. Jade's skin turned blue and her eyes turned red. "I've been practicing this move in between adventures."

Seymour smirked as his eyes became red. "Really? Let's see it."

Jade made circle formations with her hands, slowly at first then going faster and faster until she was able to form a miniature tornado. She slowly spread her arms out, making it grow until it reached about her size. Then she let it go. The tornado flew in Seymour's direction, but he grew his true form's bat wings and flapped them, making it go back to Jade.

"Oh, no you don't!" Jade thrusted her arms forward, forcing the tornado back at her opponent. But Seymour flapped his wings faster and stronger. Jade held on as best as she could until it was too much; one more flap of his wings was all it took for him to send the tornado back and blast her off her feet. She flew backwards until she stopped herself midair and gently hovered down.

"Still needs work," Seymour commented.

Jade let out a growl. She spun her hands around again, this time forming a ball of air. She tossed the ball, but Seymour hit it like a volley ball. Jade struck back. The ball went back and forth between the two until Seymour ducked at the last minute. The ball struck a garbage pile behind him, sending debris flying everywhere.

Seymour thrusted his hands forward, sending blasts of air out his palms and at Jade. She ducked in time, then decided to get dirty. Tendrils shot out of Seymour's shadow and held him down. He tried to move, but he couldn't. Jade saw her opportunity. She ran up to him, formed a ball of air in her hands and slammed it into his chest. "Not bad," he hissed, before he grew a tail and wrapped itself around her throat with such speed that she passed out.

"Wakey, wakey," sang Seymour's voice.

Jade scrunched her nose and slowly got up. "What happened?"

"You lost."

"Tch. Cheater."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jackie returned with Captain Black to Section 13, having been given a very special mission. "Babysitting?" he asked.

"Not babysitting. Body guarding," corrected Captain Black. "And this isn't just anybody. You'll be guarding Lili, the king of Tangra."

"A king?" Jade's voice made the two men turn around and face her. How did she get in? "Cool! Count me in!"

"Sorry, Jade," said Captain Black. "This is a diplomatic mission. The king can't see anyone who doesn't have Level A clearance."

"Besides, don't you have a book report to work on?" asked Jackie.

"Jackie, why bother reading a book about some president from a gazillion years ago when I can meet a real life king?" Jade asked.

"I'm sorry, Jade. But you heard Captain Black." Jackie turned to leave with the captain.

Jade sighed in disappointment. Then she got an idea. "So the king can't see anyone who isn't cleared, huh? Hmm..." She snuck into the vault where the twelve Talismans were kept and took the Snake Talisman. She felt its power surge through her and when she looked down at her hands, she saw that they weren't there. Snake for invisibility.

* * *

At the hotel the king was staying at, Jade found Jackie meeting two men who were the king's entourage. They both wore green robes with orange patterns. "It is important you observe all formal customs in the presence of His Majesty," one of them said. He had greying hair and wore a red Phrygian cap.

"I will do my best," said Jackie.

Jade looked around the hotel. "Nice digs," she whispered She spotted two men sitting nearby. One wore a red suit and was speaking on the phone. The other wore a blue suit and was reading the newspaper. They both glanced at the entourage and Jackie, then to each other and nodded. "Undercover security," she thought. "This king must be all that."

Just then, the elevator dinged and the door opened, revealing a jolly-looking man with a red beard and small glasses...and a small boy with buck teeth wearing a huge yellow Phrygian cap decked with jewels. "Whoa, the dude's _barely_ that," Jade thought, surprised and slightly disappointed at the sight of the diminutive monarch.

"May I present Lili, the king of Tangra," the man in the red cap said as he and his partner bowed. Jackie was quick to bow with them. "And Chaktra, his royal tutor." Both king and tutor bowed back.

"Tangra, where a kid can be a king," Jade whispered to herself. If a boy can be king of a whole country, then surely she could be Queen of the World as well.

"Mr. Chan," said the man in the red cap. "It is customary to perform the Song of Welcome."

"Oh, yes. I would love to hear it," said Jackie.

"It is you who is to sing, Mr. Chan," said Chaktra with an amused smile.

"Me?!"

The king held up his hand. "Later. What I would truly like to do is explore the city."

"And so you shall, my king," said Chaktra. "But we are past due for the ceremony at city hall. Your car awaits."

The king made a disappointed frown as he left with his tutor, Jackie and the entourage. "Looking out the window of a limousine is not the sightseeing I had in mind."

"A limo ride sounds good to me," Jade thought. Then the two shifty men she saw earlier about to follow the king's group. She eyed something odd: On the back of their necks was a tattoo of a snake biting its own tail. "These suits and ties aren't security," she realized. "Not with those 'Have a rotten day!' tattoos." She patted the spot on her patted where her own tattoo was placed.

Jade snuck to the limo the king was to be placed in, hopped in through the open sun roof and took her seat. As the limo drove on, Lili was constantly sticking his head out the window, marveling at the sights. "Look! The Golden Gate Bridge! Did you realize, Chaktra, that it is so expansive that as soon as a crew finishes painting, they must start over again?"

"I was not aware of that, my king."

"And there! That is Bay View Stadium! How I would love to witness a baseball game."

Jade thought to herself as she reclined on the chair, "Fancy hotels, luxury cars... Yeah, I could get used to this."

* * *

At city hall, the Mayor stood before a huge crowd with King Lili, Jackie, the entourage and Chaktra by his side. "And so, it is in the spirit of friendship and cooperation that I present to you with this key to our fair city." The mayor handed the Key To The City to the young king, who struggled to hold it. The crowd clapped their hands, not realizing the two shifty men were silently walking through them, heading for the podium where the king was.

Jade stood nearby, pretending the people were clapping for her. "Thank you, San Francisco, thank you," she said, speaking softly so no one can hear her. "You are too kind. You really know how to make a Queen feel welcome."

Meanwhile, Jackie kept watch. Suddenly, he saw a man in a green suit about to open a suitcase. "STOP!" He tackled the man, knocking the suitcase open. But instead of a gun like he thought, he saw a camera. That's when he saw the badge on the man's shirt. "Oh! Photographer. Sorry." Embarrassed, he helped the man up.

At that moment, Jade heard footsteps. The two shifty men she saw earlier were sneaking up behind the king. Her eyes flashed red for a brief moment. Tendrils shot out of the men's shadows and caused them to trip. Alerted by the sound, Jackie shouted, "King Lili! Bad men!" Jackie stood in between the assassins and the king.

One of the men pulled an electric wand out of his pocket. Thinking quick, Jackie took the Key To The City. "Sorry, I'll give it back to you!" He used the key to block the wand. The other man tried to pounce the king, but Jackie kicked him aside. Then he struck his current opponent with the key, knocking him out.

"That was amazing, the way you defeated those men single-handedly," Lili exclaimed as he was escorted to safety.

Jade huffed. "Hello! What am I? Invisible?" Then she remembered. "Oh. Right."

* * *

"And you have never seen those men before?" Jackie asked the entourage when they returned to the king's hotel room. They shook their heads and placed the king's cap in a box.

"A tiring day, Your Highness," Chaktra said, glad his pupil was safe. "Now it is time for your meditation period, then we will return to your studies."

"I have not yet taken a ride on a cable car," Lili said, disappointed. "I want to sightsee!"

Jackie shut the blinds and closed the curtains. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said. "That is not possible. Those bad men are still at large. You must remain indoors and under close watch for the rest of your stay."

The king frowned at him. "Now, now, Your Highness," said Chaktra. "All is not blue. I have the royal chefs working on a wonderful dinner!"

"Broccoli stew," Lili grumbled.

"Broccoli _souffle_ , my king."

"Yuck!"

"Double yuck," whispered Jade, who was sitting on the couch.

"Meditation, studies, broccoli," Lili complained. "Why is there never any time for fun?" He sat down on the couch, not realizing he was sitting on Jade's legs. She did her best not to make a sound. "And why is this couch so lumpy?" He jumped off.

"I am not lumpy," Jade growled.

"We will leave you to your meditation, Your Majesty," Chaktra said as he left with Jackie and the entourage.

"Yes, yes," Lili said. He sat on the bed and did a meditation pose.

"As always, you will not be disturbed until I return in four hours."

"Four hours?!" Jade thought, horrified. "I am so out of here!" Too late. The door closed and was locked. She peered through the keyhole. Jackie, the entourage and Chaktra were still out there, chatting. "As soon as the coast is clear, I'm burning rubber." Suddenly, the TV turned on. Jade turned to see the king with the remote in his hand, smiling as he watched the baseball game. "King, I like your style."

She sat next to the boy, watching the game with him. She grabbed a bowl of soy beans and ate some before handing it over. "Soy beans?"

"Thanks." The king ate some before his eyes widened. Who said that? He looked to his left. The soy beans were being picked out the bowl and disappearing in midair! He let out a yelp and jumped off the bed. "Who is there?! Reveal yourself!" Suddenly, a girl with black hair and wearing an orange shirt appeared on the bed. He gasped and backed away. The girl waved at him. "Wh-Who are you?"

"I'm, uh, part of your security team, Jackie's partner. Name's Jade."

"And you can become invisible?" the boy asked, astonished. "Can all body guards do that?"

"Only if they have one of these babies," Jade held out the Snake Talisman.

"A talisman?"

"A magic talisman."

"May I see?" Jade hesitated, before deciding to give it to him. "How does it work?"

"Just squeeze it in your hand. But I don't think..." Too late. Lili vanished before her eyes. "Yep. You learn fast," she said, becoming worried. "Now open your hand and become visible again." Silence. "Uh, king? Your Majesty? Lili?" Silence. Uh-oh. "I can't believe it! Lili pulled a Jade!"

She peeked out the door. Jackie, the entourage and Chaktra were having a customary tea ceremony. She went back in, then her eyes flashed red. She slunk into her own shadow. Then, like a snake, it slithered out from under the door, past the grown ups and into the elevator.

Back in the lobby, she stepped out of the shadows and looked around. "Okay, king, I know you're here! Somewhere!" She thought she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, but saw nothing. Then she looked at what was outside the building. "Cable car," she realized. The boy wanted to sightsee, right?

Quickly, she hopped onto the streetcar before it took off and asked the driver, "Have you seen a kid? About eight-years-old, wearing..." She paused. "And staying invisible." Then she got an idea when she saw the only passenger: a woman with groceries. "May I buy one of your sodas?" she asked innocently. "Please? I'm so thirsty." She handed her a dollar bill.

"Okay, hun. But they're warm."

"Perfect." She took one of the cans and the woman stepped off at her destination. Now alone, Jade shook the can, then opened it, spraying soda everywhere. A boy's voice yelped. "Gotcha!" Jade pointed at the king, covered in soda. "You are so busted!" Before he could make another word, someone grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth. He craned his head back to see a ninja with blue skin and red eyes. He wanted to scream, but he was too afraid. "Don't even think about it," Jade warned. "And don't say a word until the next stop!"

* * *

The Shadowkhan tossed a now visible Lili behind a hotdog cart at Fisherman's Warf. Jade walked up to him. "Please, let me explain," he whimpered.

"No, you let me explain! You may be Mr. Big Shot King, all you gotta do is snap your fingers and get whatever you want in your country, but here in the US of A, what you did is called stealing!"

"I only meant to borrow it! So I could...escape."

Jade's expression softened a little. "Well, even borrowing something that isn't yours is wrong." She paused. "And I should know. And what do you mean, escape? You've got it made in the shade!"

"You have no idea what's like being a king," Lili said sadly. "Everything is pomp and ceremony. There's never any time for normal things. No time for fun."

"Well, I...guess that could get kind of boring."

"I suppose you'll be taking me back now?"

Jade smiled. "King, you're about to go on a J-Line tour!" The king grew a wide smile. But he glanced at the Shadowkhan behind her. "Oh, don't mind him," she said assuringly. "He's one of _my_ body guards."

"Body guards?"

"A Queen of the Shadowkhan must have one."

Lili's eyes widened. "You're a Queen? Where is your castle? Your kingdom?"

"I..." Jade trailed off before admitting, "...don't have one. I am free to do whatever I please. Unlike you."

"Lucky."

Jade snapped her fingers and the Shadowkhan vanished. "So, where do you want to go, Lili?"

"I don't know. What is the best spot in the city, Your Highness?"

Jade raised her hands. "No formalities. Just Jade will do. And as for the best spot..."

* * *

After buying him some regular clothes so he wouldn't stand out, Jade took the boy king on perhaps his best tour of the city ever. They skateboarded down Lombard Street, ate ice cream at the Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop at Ghirardelli Square, played basketball with some of the local kids at Union Square, explored the San Francisco Zoo and took a tour at the Walt Disney Family Museum.

* * *

At the Oakland Bay Bridge, the two children looked out at the bay, smelling the sea air. "We ought to be getting back," Jade said. The king's entourage and tutor were to have realized by now he was gone.

"Please, there is one more place I must visit."

* * *

Bay View Stadium. Why not? Jade stood at the pitcher's mound, baseball in hand. Lili was at bat. Jade wanted the two of them to have teams of Shadowkhan, but Lili declined. He wanted it to be just the two of them. "And there's the pitch!" Jade tossed the ball. The king made a hit and started running. The ball bounced and Jade caught it. "It's going to be close...the runner slides!" The two kids bumped into each other. But Lili's foot still touched home base. "He's safe!"

"Yes, but you are in trouble." The two kids gasped and looked to see a very cross Jackie and a very relieved Chaktra.

"We can explain," the kids protested.

Jackie took Jade to have a talk with her. He held out his hand. "The Talisman."

"Heh. Found out about that too, huh?" Jade asked nervously as she handed it to him.

Before Jackie could say another word a van crashed into the stadium. The two assassins Jackie fought earlier stepped out. Chaktra tried to fight them off, but he tripped on a baseball and landed on his face. The man in blue grabbed the boy and held an electric wand to his temple. "Stay where you are," he said to Jackie and Jade. "If you want the boy to remain unharmed."

"Help!" cried the king as the two men took off.

* * *

When they returned to the hotel, Jackie made a phone call to Section 13. "No, Captain Black. No word yet from the kidnappers." Jade sat on the couch, looking sad. This was her fault, and she knew it. "Yes, please send a chopper. I want Jade and...our reptile friend back at Section 13 where they won't cause any more trouble."

Suddenly, the fax machine beeped and a letter slowly printed out. Jackie read it over. "It's a ransom note. It says Chaktra is to deliver the crown jewels of Tangra to a warehouse downtown, alone, within one hour or he will never see the king again."

The man in the red cap gasped. "The crown jewels?! They are Tangra's most valuable treasure!"

"How do you worry about mere baubles," Chaktra asked, outraged. "The boy is in danger!" The entourage nodded to each other and left to get the crown jewels.

"I will come with you," said Jackie.

"But they requested me, alone," said Chaktra. "We must do nothing to jeopardize Lili's safe return."

"Exactly. These are bad men. We cannot be sure they will honor their word."

Jade tugged Jackie's sleeve. "Jackie, let me come with you, please! Lili's my friend."

"I know, Jade," Jackie said. "But it is too dangerous. Captain Black is on his way and will be picking you up by helicopter." He handed her the Snake Talisman.

"But Jackie-"

"You will return the Talisman to the vault, do your homework and go to bed," he said sternly.

"Tch."

The entourage returned with the box containing the king's jeweled cap. "Please bring our king safely home," the man in the red cap pleaded.

"I will not fail his majesty," Chaktra assured them all.

Then Jade saw it. On the back of the tutor's neck was a tattoo. Almost like the one the assassins had on their necks. "Chaktra's hooked up with the kidnappers," she realized.

"I will see you in the morning, Jade," Jackie said as the elevator doors closed.

"Jackie, wait!" Too late. Jade growled with frustration. Then she heard the sound of an helicopter approaching. She looked at the Talisman in her hands, then nodded to herself. She gave it a squeeze and she vanished.

* * *

At the warehouse, Chaktra slowly entered the building, making wary glances. "I have brought what you asked," he called out. He looked up at a catwalk to see the two kidnappers with a bound Lili between them. "You're Highness! Are you alright?" Lili nodded.

"Bring the crown jewels to us," the man in blue shouted. "And then we'll let the boy go!"

Chaktra took one step forward, when suddenly, he tripped and fell. The box fell out of his hands and was pushed into a nearby corner. "What sorcery is this?!"

Jade appeared out of nowhere. "Nice try, Chaktra, but your cover is blown!"

"JADE?!" exclaimed Lili and Jackie (who was hiding behind a crate).

"And noise for you, boys, till Lili is down here with me," she shouted to the kidnappers. "The whole thing's a setup, Jackie!"

"What's going on here, Chaktra," the man in blue demanded. "We told you to come alone!"

"Come alone? Hello! What does that tell you," Jade asked Jackie, who came out of hiding. "Chaktra hands over the jewels, lets them keep Lili, then they fax in another ransom!"

Chaktra got up to his feet and said, "What nonsense does she speak?"

"I don't know," said Jackie. "Jade, you've gone too far this time!"

"Jackie, Chaktra's got a tattoo on the back of his neck, just like the other bad guys! Look for yourself!"

The adventurer archaeologist decided to humor her. "I'm sorry, Chaktra, but may I see the back of your neck, please?"

Chaktra turned around, lowered the neck of his shirt and revealed...the tattoo of a monkey. Jade's eyes widened. What she thought was a snake was actually the monkey's arm. "But I thought..."

"You thought wrong!" said a voice. It was the man with the red cap, one of the king's entourage! "A simple plan," he said. "Pawn the crown jewels, use the funds to train an elite fighting and then a palace takeover!"

"But...why?" Lili asked, hurt at this betrayal.

"Why? Because serving a king is beneath me. And I detest children."

"Yeah?" Jade stood in front of the traitor. "Well, you're going to have to get past one to get your mitts on the crown jewels!"

"With pleasure!" The traitorous man took out an electric wand and walked forward. Jade activated the Snake Talisman and disappeared from sight. The man looked around, confused. This gave Jackie the opportunity to kick him and send him flying into a control panel. This turned on all the lights and activated the power, turning on the conveyor belt.

With all these distractions happening, Jade snuck up to the catwalk and cut Lili's bonds. Then she kicked the man in the blue suit off the catwalk and onto the conveyor belt. The man in red looked around, confused. "But how?!"

"It is my mental kung-fu," Lili said with a grin. "I practice it while meditating. Care to see more?" The man shook his head and took off running.

Jade reappeared. "Now that was good. Guess now you're an army of one," she called out to the man in the red cap, who was currently fighting Jackie.

"As long as I have the jewels..." The man raced for Chaktra, who was holding the box. The tutor readied for a fight.

"Chaktra, no!" Jackie ran up to the thief and kicked the electric wand out of his hand.

"Perhaps we should use the invisibility talisman and assist?" Lili asked. "Or you could call your ninjas."

"Jackie doesn't need any help," replied Jade. "Besides, if he gets a serious workout, he might forget all about grounding me. And as for the ninjas...I like to keep that a secret."

"Gotcha."

The man in the red cap attacked with a serious of jabs, but Jackie dodged every one of them and kicked him right off his feet. He landed on his head with a thud. Jackie wiped sweat off his brow. The kids cheered.

* * *

Back at the hotel, the king held two star-shaped medals. "Jackie Chan, for your heroism in service to the royal family, I present to you the Star of Tengra."

Jackie accepted it. "Thank you, your highness." Then he remembered to bow.

"Please do not bother. I always thought it looked foolish. I'm up for the high five."

Jackie was about to high five, but the king turned away and Jackie fell flat on his face. Lili handed Jade another Star of Tengra. "Thank you for everything, Jade. You gave me a day I will never forget."

Jade smiled. "Hey, even a king needs a vacation"

"Perhaps someday you can come visit? We could play some ball."

"You're on."

The two kids high fived.

* * *

Jade had a lot on her mind as she laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Is that what I will be like when I become Queen of the World? Stuck in a palace, having so much responsibilities, never allowed to have any freedom?" She looked out the window. "No. Who says I can't have a secret lair and go on adventures? After all, I am no human queen. I have powers at my disposal! I have an army at my command! I am Jade Chan! I am and shall remain Queen of the Shadowkhan!"

The spot where her tattoo was tingled a little.


	13. Chapter 13

At Rome, Jackie rode in a motorcycle with Uncle in a sidecar. "Hurry, Jackie!" shouted the old man.

"I know, we mustn't allow Shendu to release the Water Demon!"

"No! Hurry! Uncle's legs are getting a big cramp!"

* * *

At the Colosseum, the Dark Hand placed the Pan Ku Box on the ground, and a large green door with a swirling vortex in it slowly rose up. "Join us, sister dearest!" Shendu hissed. What came out was something resembling a mermaid. It had green, blue and white scaly body with a feminine human's upper half, a fish's lower half and writhing tentacles for hair. This was Bai Tza the Water Demon.

"Whoa, fish out of water," commented Ratso.

"At last, liberation," Bai Tza exclaimed. "And now for some libation!" She looked around at the Colosseum and hissed. "Which will require moister climes than this."

"Ah, ah, ah, now that I have opened the last portal, sister," said Shendu. "It is time to liberate me from my prison of flesh." He made a disgusted glance at Valmont's body. He yelped when Bazi Tza grabbed him with her tentacles and brought him up close to her.

"You DARE request your freedom?!"

"Have I not earned it?! As promised, I have released all our brothers and sisters!"

Bai Tza narrowed her eyes at him. "How curious then. THAT SIX DEMON SORCERERS REMAIN TRAPPED IN THE VOID!" She began constricting Shendu as she continued, "I should obliterate you on their behalf!"

"I held my part of the bargain," Shendu wheezed. "You can't blame me for the meddlings of Jackie Chan!" The sound of a motor made the two demons look left. There was Jackie and Uncle, arriving in a motorcycle. "Speaking of whom..."

"Quick, Uncle! The chi spell!" shouted Jackie.

Uncle squirmed in his seat. "Jackie, I'm stuck!" Jackie ran to help him out.

"I will not repeat the same mistakes as the others," Bai Tza shouted as she let go of Shendu and formed a water ball in her hand. She threw it at the two men, but they managed to get away just in time. Then she slithered away. Jackie attempted to start the motorcycle when the Dark Hand started to approach him with electric wands.

"Chariot ride's over, Chan," said Finn.

"It's gladiator time," shouted Ratso.

"It's strength and honor," said Chow.

Jackie finally got the bike running and its wheels sprayed mud all over the Dark Hand. "Uncle, get in!" Uncle groaned in discomfort. Jackie road past the Dark Hand and chased after Bai Tza.

Meanwhile, Valmont regained control of his body. "Is it finally over? Am I free of Shendu?"

"Uh...mermaid said no deal, Big V," said Finn.

Valmont growled.

* * *

In the streets of Rome, Bai Tza looked behind her and gasped to see the Chans so close behind her. "Uncle, the chi spell!" shouted Jackie. Uncle held up a gourd and a pufferfish and began chanting, "Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zhao!"

"Your spells may have quelled my siblings," Bai Tza shrieked. "But I am a slippery one!" She fired two more water balls out of her hands, making the motorcycle spin out of control. Jackie got back in control and resumed chasing her down the Spanish Steps and onto another street. She didn't look where she was going and crashed into a tour bus, exploding into a puddle of water.

The motorcycle stopped in front it and Jackie inspected the moisture. "Looks like we won't be needing that ch spell after all."

"Don't be so sure, Jade," Jackie said. Jade? "JADE?! I told you to stay with..." He looked again. Jade was sitting in a yellow sidecar with Tohru riding in the motorcycle. "...Tohru," finished Jackie, dumbfounded.

"She is very persuasive," Tohru said, lowing his head.

Uncle struggled to get out of his sidecar. "Help me out! I must cast the chi spell!"

"Sensei," exclaimed Tohru.

While he and Jackie tried to get Uncle out, the puddle began to reform into the Water Demon. "Mama mia!" exclaimed Jade. Bai Tza was full formed; Uncle began chanting and waving the gourd and pufferfish, "Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zhao! Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zhao!" The gourd began to glow... But Bai Tza was quicker; she fired a water ball out of her hand, knocking it out of his hand. She tried to escape, but Tohru grabbed onto her tail. Big mistake. She started carrying him off. Jackie grabbed the gourd and followed after them.

Bai Tza turned into water and slid through a fence; Tohru crashed into it. Jackie hopped over the fence and resumed the chase. Then she dove into the Fountain of Neptune and jumped into the water. Jackie looked around; but she was gone. She more than likely went down the drain to escape. Jackie sighed. The one that got away, as they say.

* * *

When the J-Team returned to Uncle's Rare Finds, they began taking out every book they can find off the shelves. "Water Demon will return to her undersea empire, then not even my most powerful chi spell can stop her."

"So forget the books," said Jade. "Let's pack our flippers and -" She grunted as Uncle handed her a stack of books.

"Research! Bai Tza's empire is also known as the lost continent of Atlantis." Everyone's eyes bugged out when Uncle said that.

"Atlantis?" questioned Jackie.

"I thought it was merely a myth," said Tohru.

"No one has ever been able to find it," reminded Uncle.

"Heh, hence the lost part," said Jade. Then she lost balance and the books she was carrying fell on top of her.

* * *

Down below the seas, Bai Tza swam down a trench and found Atlantis...or rather, what was left of it. "My empire lies in ruins! Time has done its worst. Which means it is time for me to claim a new empire!" She chuckled as she swam away.

* * *

At the fish cannery, Valmont was having probably the worst day of his life. "Wearing the skirt is demeaning enough, Shendu, but this is over the line!" He now had green scaly skin and a horn coming out of his head.

"Do you think _I_ am pleased with our union, Valmont? If I am to remain in your pathetic body, I at least must make a few cosmetic improvements. Now hold still while I sprout our tail." He was about to drink a potion when Valmont wrenched back control over his body.

"You'll do nothing of the kind!"

"What are you trying to-"

"I'll fight you to the very-"

The Dark Hand just watched the scene, feeling awkward. Suddenly, they felt a presence behind them. They turned around and screamed and ran as Bai Tza appeared and said, "Shendu!"

"Good madam," Valmont pleaded. "Please free me of Shendu, I beg of you! Look what he did to my head!"

Bai Tza picked him up and said, "My answer to you and my sniveling brother remains...no." Then she dropped him.

"Nasty piranha," commented Finn.

"YOU!"

Finn gulped. "Me?" he squeaked. Bai Tza picked him up with one of her tentacles. "Eh, heh," he chuckled nervously. "You're a fish, I'm Finn. We're simpatico."

Her grip tightened as she ordered, "Direct me to a suitable new empire!"

"Uh, mi casa es su casa, your amphibiousness."

"A _fish_ cannery?!"

Finn gulped, realizing his mistake. "I see your point. Well, there's lots of nice places here in San Fran. It's all by the water!"

"Yeah, great town," agreed Chow.

"Except for the quakes," pointed out Ratso.

Bai Tza's eyes gleamed with interest. "Earthquakes?"

"Uh, that's right," said Finn. He started to wonder if he had just made a big mistake. "The San Andreas Fault runs right through downtown. Better idea: you should move to the east coast."

The Water Demon let him go as she hissed with sadistic glee, "So be it. Your San Fran shall be the cradle of my undersea empire!

Ratso put a finger on his chin as he said, a little afraid, "Uh, but isn't your undersea empire supposed to be...you know..."

" _Under_ sea?" asked Chow.

"And so it shall be," Bai Tza said. "Once I sink this city." She turned into water and vanished through the floorboards.

Ratso perfectly summed up the whole situation with two words. "Uh, oh!"

"She's going to sink the city," Chow asked, horrified.

"Uh, can we be excused, Shendu?" asked Finn.

"Yeah, seeing as we opened all the portals for you," said Ratso, who was already thinking of packing his bags and moving to a place far from the sea.

"You don't need us to carry old Pan Ku anymore," Chow finished, who was thinking the same thing as his two companions.

"Never seeing any of you ever again would make me a very happy dragon," the Fire Demon said.

The Dark Hand looked at each other and made a very hasty retreat out the cannery.

"Weren't you listening, Shendu?!" shouted Valmont. "If we stay here, we will drown!"

"Not if we have gills..."

"If you change so much as another hair on my head, I'll..."

"You will what?" Valmont shook his head, fighting to regain control. Then he eyed the Pan Ku Box. He reached for it, but Shendu stopped him. "Do not be a fool! The Pan Ku Box is forged from good magic, you know we cannot touch it!"

"No! YOU cannot touch it!" Valmont grabbed the box after a struggle and energy surged in him, causing pain. Then he felt his whole body shift. He patted his forehead. No horn. He ran to the mirror and saw his reflection was back to normal. "My face! He's gone! He's..." He looked again. He could see the outline of Shendu's face over his own. The eyes were closed, as if he was... "...out cold," he finished. Drat.

* * *

"I found Atlanta," Jade said. "Does that count?"

"Uncle, this is impossible," Jackie said. They had combed over probably a hundred books, but found nothing. "Scientists have been trying to find Atlantis for centuries!"

Suddenly, the door opened and the bell rang. And who came in through the door? Valmont. Back to wearing his green business suit instead of the black and blue robe. "Good evening," he said.

"What do you want," Jackie asked, getting in a defensive stance.

"Shh! You will wake Shendu," Valmont hushed him.

Everyone gave him a confused look. "He's...napping?" asked Jackie.

"I rendered him unconscious, now please, you must help me! I want him exorcised!"

"Tch, like we're going to help Shendu get in shape," Jade said, folding her arms.

"Not exercise, Jade. Ex-or-cise," corrected Uncle.

"He wants to remove Shendu's spirit from his body," explained Jackie. "But why should we help you?" he asked Valmont.

"Because there is nothing that either of us wants more than to be rid of that blasted Fire Demon."

Tohru picked his former boss up and glared at him. "Dark Hand trick!"

"No tricks I will tell you anything you want to know!" Tohru began to carry him out. "Our hideout! It's the Helm's Fish Cannery!"

"That's nice," said Jade. "But we've got bigger fish to fry."

"Like finding the demon you unleashed," pointed out Jackie. "Remember?"

"SHE'S IN SAN FRANCISCO!" Valmont shouted desperately.

"Bai Tza?" exclaimed Uncle.

"Here?" exclaimed Jade.

"Where?" demanded Jackie.

Tohru let Valmont down. He made a smug smile. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

* * *

Jackie couldn't believe what Valmont was saying. "Bai Tza's planning on sinking San Francisco by causing an earthquake? But how?"

"Just because I'm possessed by a demon doesn't mean I can read their minds."

"She will need to jar the Fault with an explosion or..."

"A flood!" Jade realized.

Tohru came in with a tray of tea. "Tea, Sensei?"

"Thank you."

"Jolly good, Tohru," said Valmont. "I would love a spot of..." He stopped when the large man growled at him. "Er, right then."

Uncle drew a Chinese symbol on Valmont's forehead. "This Hansa will suppress Shendu until I am able to concoct a true exorcism spell."

Valmont looked at his reflection. "Well, it's more becoming than a horn, I suppose."

Uncle handed Tohru a satchel and a gourd. "Tohru, you must go with Jackie to cast the Water Demon's chi spell."

"Ta-ta," Valmont waved to them. "Best of luck."

"Come with us," Jackie said.

"Awesome!" Jade cheered.

"Not you," Uncle said, before pointing to Valmont. "YOU!"

Jackie grabbed Valmont by the arm. "But the exorcism spell," he complained.

"You have resources. We need them," Jackie said seriously.

* * *

In a helicopter provided by Valmont, Jackie looked out the side with a pair of night vision binoculars. "It's a big city, Chan," pointed out Valmont.

"I am following what we know to be the path of the fault line for any sign of Bai Tza," said Jackie. "That is unless you have any better ideas."

Valmont tried to get friendly with his former minion. "Just like old times, eh, Tohru?" Tohru growled at him in response. "I recommend you watch your back, Chan. Tohru turned on me, remember?"

Tohru pointed at his ex-boss and reminded him, "You forced me to fight a demon!"

"Oh, yes, that' completely different from what Chan has you doing," Valmont said sarcastically.

"Shh!" hissed Jackie. He could see the Water Demon now, slithering down the street. "Down!" he shouted to the pilot, which turned out to be Hak Foo. With a nod of approval from Valmont, the large red-haired man lowered the helicopter down to the street. Jackie, Tohru and Valmont hopped out and Hak Foo took off.

The trio didn't get far when they saw a shadow coming around a corner. Bai Tza? Jackie whispered, "One, two..." NOW! Jackie and Tohru charged, but a small figure in orange flew a kick in their direction, only to be caught in Tohru's hand. It was Jade.

"Thought you guys looked fishy," she said.

"So this is why your niece is always with you," Valmont said humorously. "And here I just thought you were just horribly irresponsible."

"Jade, how did you-"

"I had Section 13 hook me up with satellite surveillance. Duh!" Then she gasped. "Bai-"

"And good bye to you, Jade," Jackie said with his hands on his hips.

"No! Bai Tza!" She pointed to the Water Demon across the street and going down the tunnel to the subway.

"Why Embarcadero Station?" asked Jackie.

"Perhaps she's hopping bars to the Bay Aquarium," Valmont said sarcastically.

* * *

The group came into the station, silently stalking towards the edge of the balcony to peer down below. There was Bai Tza, curiously holding a paint bucket in her hand. Using one of her hair tendrils, she began to paint a circle of symbols on the floor and chanted, "Lai Shui Zai...Lai Shaui Zai...Lai Shui Zai..."

"I've seen such symbols in Uncle's books," said Tohru. "Used for summoning spells."

"What's she trying to summon?" asked Jade.

"Enough water for a flood," Jackie said. "The station's lower levels are underground, closer to the fault."

"Then I can't imagine the subway system was built to withstand the crushing pressure of raging flood waters," Valmont said.

"Quickly, Tohru," Jackie said urgently. "The chi spell!"

Tohru took the gourd from his satchel. "I need preparation time," he said.

"I will run interference," Jackie said with a nod. Stealthily, he climbed down the balcony and tiptoed over to the circle while Bai Tza's back was turned. He began to scrape off some of the symbols with his foot, but Bai Tza heard him and she tried to smack him with her tail. Jackie managed to dodge her attacks and resumed scraping off the symbols. "Safe!" He scraped off more symbols only to get blasted into a wall by a jet of water coming from Bai Tza's palms.

"How nice to just stand back on watch Chan work," Valmont said smugly.

Tohru poured the gourds contents into a fish and said, "I must be within range." Taking both the gourd and the fish, he used the escalator to walk downstairs. But not before threatening Valmont, "If Jade does not remain safe, I will turn you inside out."

Valmont gulped. "Err...I won't let her out of my sight, old chap," he said, patting the girl's head.

"Jackie!" Jade exclaimed when she saw Bai Tza grab Jackie and toss him aside. She wanted to help him, but Valmont grabbed her and said, "Ah, ah, ah! Stay right here with Uncle Valmont." Jade growled; how bad she wanted to kill this man!

Meanwhile, Bai Tza managed to fix the circle and began chanting again, "Lai Shui Zai...Lai Shui Zai...Lai Shui Zai..."

Tohru descended the stairs, chanting, "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao...Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao...Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."

The spell nearly completed, Bai Za began to chant faster. Tohru chanted faster too. Unfortunately, it was too late; Bai Tza managed to finish her spell first. The circle turned green and a torrent of water burst out of it. Tohru got blasted off his feet and the water crashed him into Jackie. Both men sat up and Tohru spat the fish he was carrying out of his mouth. "I hate fish," he muttered. He suddenly realized he was missing something. "Where is -"

"THE GOURD!" shouted Jackie, pointing at the vegetable that was floating away.

The men tried to catch it, but Bai Tza grabbed it instead. "Lose something?" She whipped Jackie with her tentacles. Tohru tried to punch her, but she formed a hole in her stomach and sealed his hand. "I want to hold your hand," she laughed as she turned her left hand into a watery hammer and smacked him aside.

Jackie jumped onto her back and tied her tendrils around her eyes, blindfolding her.

Jade dialed her cell phone. "Uncle, we need another gourd! And while you're at it, we need to break a water summoning spell!"

"AYAH! Too many spells!" the old man shouted on the other end.

"How's that exorcism spell coming," Valmont asked in the phone.

Back down below, the water began to rise up to Jackie and Tohru's shoulders. Bai Tza managed to untangle herself and shrieked at them. "I'm going down for the gourd," Jackie said as he dove down.

Unfortunately, Bai Tza followed after him before Tohru could stop her. She swam up to Jackie's surprised face and hissed, "Welcome to my world, Chan!" She swiped at him, but he managed to dodge and swim away. The Water Demon then made a grab for him, but Tohru managed to pull Jackie up to the balcony. Bai Tza shrieked with anger as she burst out of the water.

"Jackie!" exclaimed Jade.

"I'm not sure who to root for. Ow!" Valmont exclaimed as Jade punched him in the arm and growled at him. "Uh...go Jackie?"

"Go, Valmont," she corrected him. As in go help Jackie.

"And ruin my Italian shoes?"

"And keep Shendu for a roommate?"

"Oh, alright," Valmont said, taking off his shoes. He jumped down to the lower level and kicked Bai Tza in the face before she could attack Jackie and Tohru.

"You dare to betray me, Shendu?!" hissed the Water Demon.

An idea popped in Valmont's head. "Yes, he does! I insist you remove him at once and give him a trouncing!" But rather than do what he said, the Water Demon sprayed a torrent of water out of her palm and sent him off his feet.

Jackie ran to help him up. To his horror, he saw that the symbol on his forehead had been washed off. "Valmont?" he asked cautiously.

Valmont's eyes turned red and Shendu's voice hissed from his mouth, "Chan!"

"They've been playing tricks on you, brother!" Bai Tza said.

"Then they shall suffer a dragon's fury!" Shendu opened his mouth and fire burst out. Thinking quick, Tohru and Jackie tossed Bai Tza into the fire, putting it out while also turning her into steam. Both demons stood up and growled at the two men.

Just then, they noticed something: the water level was beginning to lower and the circle that summoned it had vanished. And Uncle was coming down the escalator, holding a gourd and chanting, "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao...Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao...Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."

"Uncle broke your spell," taunted Jade.

The gourd fired a laser, but Bai Tza dove into the water before it could hit her. "Uncle, exorcism," Jackie shouted, pointing at Shendu. But Shendu leaped over his and Jade's heads and took off running out of the subway.

"Scared him off," Jade exclaimed, a little happy.

"Uncle," Jackie said as he and Tohru approached the old man. "You did not remove Shendu from Valmont?" He got slapped in the face. "Ow!"

"With what spell?! Too many interruptions," Uncle chastised him. "I had to concoct anti water summoning spell first!"

Jackie sighed in disappointment. "So Bai Tza and Shendu remain at large."

"Jackie, hello! You just saved the city from the big one," Jade pointed out.

The J-Team watched as all the water finally disappeared, leaving the subway station completely dry. "She will return," Jackie said grimly.

"And when she does, we'll hook her like a trout!" Jade said with a swing of her fist. "Now, come on! I say we treat you to a Pan'Ku breakfast!" She winced when she realized what she said. The adults raised eyebrows at her. "Pan'Ku. I meant, pancake!"

"Now that sounds good," Jackie said.

Uncle picked up Valmont's Italian-made shoes. "I can sell these..."

And with that, the J-Team left the station. Well, Bai Tza was the one that got away today. But tomorrow, they'll have another go at her.


	14. Chapter 14

Later that night, while everyone was asleep, Jade crept out the window and sat on a bench, waiting for something. And it wasn't the bus. Ten Shadowkhan appeared in front of her, bowing. "Well, have you found her? Any trace of the Water Demon?" The Shadowkhan shook their heads. Jade let out a growl as her skin turned blue and her eyes turned red. "This is ridiculous! How hard is it to find a single trout demon?" She sighed and exhaled before turning to her minions. "You're dismissed." The Shadowkhan disappeared into the shadows.

"This is getting out of hand," Jade said, a little concerned. "If I don't put a hook on the Water Demon, my plans will be ruined!" She paced back and forth and thought. Then she had an idea. "Well, if I can't find a demon with Shadowkhan, why not find a demon with a demon?"

* * *

"Hsi Wu!" Jade shouted at the water tower. "Wake up, you overgrown bat!" There was no response. Growling, she flew up to the water tower and opened the loose panel. Inside was the Sky Demon, snoring loudly and having his wings wrapped around him like a blanket. He snorted and scratched his rear with his tail. Jade deadpanned, "That's something I didn't want to see."

She took the flute from her pocket and blew into it. The Sky Demon let out a shriek and tugged on his ears. "STOP! STOP THAT CURSED MUSIC!"

"Good evening to you too, Hsi Wu," Jade said sarcastically.

"What the heck is wrong with you?! You're sending me back to my portal after everything I've done?!"

"It's the only thing I could think of to wake you up."

Hsi Wu sat up and growled. "What do you want, Jade?"

"I'm going fishing and I need you help to find her."

"Her? You mean Bai Tza? Yeah, forget it." Jade put the flute to her lips. "Wait! Wait! You don't understand! My sister is craftier than Shendu and twice as dangerous! If she sees me with you, she'll drown me on dry land!"

"Tch. Like that's going to stop me." She snapped her fingers. Twenty Shadowkhan appeared behind her. "It's still one demon against thousands of shadows."

Hsi Wu laughed. "Bai Tza stood before a thousand human armies, each of them superior to a little girl with shadow powers and all of them died!"

Jade smirked. "Yeah, _human_ armies."

* * *

Bai Tza swam out of the water and onto the shore of an unknown island. "Curse you, Jackie Chan!" She let out a roar and slammed her fist on the sand, making the water behind her ripple violently. She panted heavily as her anger was spent. Then she exhaled. "No matter. I can always find another land to flood, another Atlantis to claim." Her train of thoughts was cut off when a shuriken sliced off her right arm, turning it into water. "What?!"

She suddenly found herself surrounded by at least a dozen Shadowkhan. Enraged, she yelled, "Shendu! You would dare betray me AGAIN?!"

"Shendu's not the one in control here." A small girl with black hair and the grayish blue skin and red eyes of the Shadowkhan stepped out of the shadows. "I am."

The Water Demon snickered. "So, you are the child Hsi Wu talked about." She chuckled again. "You are playing with forces you could never understand."

"What I understand is that you can teach me. Help me translate your pages of the Demon Archive."

Bai Tza narrowed her eyes at the girl. "And why should I do that?" She got her answer when Jade held up a gourd that was glowing green. "The chi spell!"

"That's right. And there's nowhere you can hide from me forever. As long as here are shadows, my friends," Jade patted one of the Shadowkhan's shoulders. "Will find you."

The Water Demon wasn't afraid. "But as long as I am near my element, you can't beat me!" She raised her hands. The water surrounding the island suddenly rose up into a giant wave. With a snap of her fingers, blades of liquid shot out of the waves and rained down on the Shadowkhan, making them disappear in puffs of smoke. Jade dodged the water blades by turning into a shadow and slither along the ground like a snake.

"Maybe Hsi Wu was right. I am out of my element," Jade thought as she reformed to her normal form and dodged more water blades. Then she had an idea. "So why not do the same to her?" She ran up to the Water Demon and tackled her into the ground. With a single thought, she put a hand on Bai Tza's shadow and the two of them sank into darkness.

* * *

The next thing the two of them knew, they were surrounded by sand. Lots and lots of sand. And the sun was baking down on them. Bai Tza let out a screech as steam started coming out of her body. "Where are we?! What did you do?!"

"I teleported us to the hottest place on Earth I can think of," Jade said, wiping sweat off her brow. "The Sahara Desert. There's no trace of water here for thousands of miles! You're out of your element!" Her smirk slowly started to vanish when Bai Tza started chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"I'm not quite out of my element," the Water Demon said. "Did you know that the human body is seventy percent water?"

Jade's eyes widened a little. "Uh...I think I learned something like that in science class." She suddenly felt her entire body stiffen up. "What?! I...I can't move!"

Bai Tza laughed. "I can control the fluids and juices inside your very body! If I can, I can make your blood flow stop!" She laughed as she watched Jade struggle to break free from her paralysis. Suddenly, she felt a kick in the gut and she fell to the ground. She looked up to see a Shadowkhan looming over her. She whipped it away with her tail and hissed at Jade.

Jade gulped as she backed away. "I do not want to go through that again." With a thought, she commanded Bai Tza's own shadow to reach out, grab her and pin her down. "Now that I got your attention," she said. "How about we get right down to business? What will it take to help me read my book?"

" _Your_ book?! I am one of the writers of that archive! It is not a mere child's play thing!"

"Tch. I am no mere child. And I want to learn far greater powers."

Bai Tza just laughed. "You've only scratched the surface. I can teach you more than what that book or what Hsi Wu has to say." She suddenly felt the shadow tighten its grip around her.

"You want to know what Shendu said when he promised me that? He betrayed me. And I know you will do the same. Hsi Wu says you're craftier than that dragon."

The Water Demon snorted, "Of course I am. You know that I can still control your bodily fluids with a single flex!"

"Which is why I got you bound. So, what's it going to take for you to help me read your section?"

"NOTHING!" shrieked the Water Demon as she struggled to get out.

Jade remained expressionless. "Oh, then in that case, I'll just leave you here in the desert to evaporate." She turned to leave.

Bai Tza's eyes widened. "Wait!" Jade paused. "I can teach you."

The Queen of the Shadowkhan turned. "I'm listening."

"But only if you do me a favor."

Jade crossed her arms. "What favor?"

"Provide me a new Atlantis. Preferably one away from your meddling uncles."

"What? And have you flood another innocent city?"

Bai Tza snarled. "They're just humans! Humans who pollute the waters, choking the life of its inhabitants, and taking and eating more than they need! No human is innocent!"

Jade thought it over. The Water Demon had a point, but she couldn't let her destroy any human settlements. Section 13 would immediately find her out. Oh, and Bai Tza as well. Then she had an idea. "Well, the bad news is," she finally said. "I can't let you flood any cities."

"Then you can forget about-"

"I'm not finished, you overgrown trout!" Jade shouted. "Sheesh, let a girl finish her sentence, will you? As I was saying, why don't you flood a human settlement that's already abandoned? It's a win-win! There will be no humans to destroy and Section 13 or the J-Team won't think to look for you there."

"Oh, sure, sure, no one will think to look for me," Bai Tza said sarcastically. "Except they already are! All because Jackie Chan foiled my plan to make San Francisco my new kingdom, and you helped him!"

"Tch, if you mean be there for moral support," Jade muttered. She asked, "What if I were to make it look like you've been sealed in your portal? It worked the last time with Hsi Wu."

The Water Demon narrowed her eyes. "And what is that?"

"You'll see. I just need the ingredients for a duplication spell. Oh, and you need to take on a human disguise." She took note of the Water Demon's disgust. "Okay, shadow, you can let her go now." The shadow dropped its owner and sunk back into the ground. "One more thing: betray me and I will serve you with chips."

Bai Tza raised an eyebrow. "What are chips?"

* * *

Jade popped out of the shadows and landed next to Hsi Wu. "Well, your sister is a fine piece of work."

"I told you. She's not one to take lightly."

"Still, I think I got her on my side. All I need is a duplication spell and she will be in the clear."

"And you think she won't betray you?"

Jade took the gourd out of her pocket and rolled it around in her hand. "No. I don't."


	15. Chapter 15

"So," Bai Tza asked Jade that night at the docks. "Have you given me the location of my new Atlantis?" Jade handed her a map of the Pacific Ocean. "What is this?"

"Your new home," said Jade. "There is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that was once a Spanish colony. They set up a whole settlement there, but they disappeared one day. It's got everything you need. A city, a fort, a monastery, even a treasure vault."

"I do not some old human settlement!" the Water Demon hissed. "I want a new kingdom! One that is structurally sound!"

"You'd be surprised to know how long these old human settlements last." Bai Tza was about to retort when Jade held up the gourd. "Or I could send you back to your permanent vacation home."

"Wait!" Bai Tza sighed. "I'll take it."

"There is one thing that eludes me," Jade said. "What are you going to have for subjects? The fish?" Bai Tza didn't respond. "Well, I guess that answers that question."

"So," Bai Tza said, folding her arms. "How will we carry your plan out?"

"Just let your duplication do everything. Then when 'you're' sealed, you will help me translate your pages of the Demon Archive."

"Deal."

"Very good." Jade sunk into the shadows, leaving the Water Demon alone.

Bai Tza snarled. "How long must I keep pretending to be allies with that girl?!"

"As long as it takes," Hsi Wu the Sky Demon said as he landed next to her. "Or at least until we find a way to free all our siblings."

"True," Bai Tza said. "She may have a strange power, but she's still no match for all our might."

Both demons chuckled.

* * *

People screamed in terror as a huge tidal wave was heading straight for them. The only ones not running away was the small group on a dingy. Jackie peered through his binoculars and said, "Nice day for a tsunami. Too nice."

"Why here?" asked Tohru.

"The Water Demon will need a palace from which she will rule in her new undersea kingdom," explained Uncle.

Jackie looked through the binoculars again and saw her: a demonic mermaid riding the wave. "Here she comes, Uncle! Bai Tza!" They were not going to lose her this time!

"Jackie, take the gourd! I will prepare the chi spell!"

"Right." Jackie took the vegetable from Uncle, then fell back in surprise when he saw a moose-shaped camera poking out from under the boat's cover. "Jade?"

"Nope" said a cartoony voice. "I'm a moose! Marlin Moose!"

Jackie removed the cover to find the little girl. "Jade, you were supposed to wait back in Section 13!"

"Tch. I've been at every demon sendoff so far! Did you really think that I was going to sit out on the last one? Besides, then we can sell our story to reality TV!" Jade held up her camera.

"Shall I turn back?" asked Tohru.

"No," said Jackie. He said to Jade, "Please, just keep out of harm's way!"

Uncle waved the puffer fish in the air and chanted, "Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zao! Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zao! Yu Mo Gwai Gui Fai Di Zao!"

Bai Tza heard the chi spell and hissed in repulsion. "The chi wizard!" The gourd in Jackie's hand glowed green, then fired a green beam at the Water Demon who let out a scream.

"Ooh, fish fry," Jade said, trying to get a close-up. Unfortunately, she got _too_ close and got caught in the green beam.

"Jade!" Jackie exclaimed in horror.

"Jackie!" Jade reached for his hand, but it was too late. The spell pulled her and Bai Tza away from the ocean and sent them flying all the way to Rome, where they were both sucked into the Water Demon's portal.

Jackie thought he was going to have a heart attack. "Uncle! We have to get Jade! You have to reopen the portal!"

But Uncle dropped the puffer fish and said in despair, "Chi spell has sealed the portal, like it has sealed all the others." Tears streamed down the old man's face. "Forever."

Jackie tried to start the boat's motor. "Hurry, Uncle! We must fly to Rome!"

"Jade is not in Rome, Jackie. She is trapped in the demon netherworld."

"Oh, why couldn't it have been me?" Tohru asked, burying his face in his hand.

"Daugh!" Jackie groaned in frustration and began rowing frantically. "There must be something we can do, Uncle! A counter spell! A stronger spell! Someway to -" Uncle slapped him. "Ow!"

"I cannot think with all your noise," grunted Uncle. He thought and thought until he thought a hole in the boat. Then he had an idea. "The eighth door!"

"Uncle?"

"We have permanently sealed seven portals belonging to seven Demon Sorcerers but not the one belonging to Shendu!" The old man started the boat and sat in the passenger's seat. "It is Jade's only hope to escape from the demon realm."

Tohru nodded and put the boat in drive. "Then, how do we find Shendu's door?"

"There is only one way."

"The Pan'Ku Box," Jackie realized.

"But Shendu has it," pointed out Tohru. "How do we find him?"

The three men then remembered what Valmont said. The fish cannery at the pier.

"Oh," said Tohru.

"Quickly, we must find the eighth door before the demons find Jade!" said Uncle as they sped back to San Francisco.

Back in the ocean, Bai Tza, the real one, smirked. "Perhaps I do not need her help after all." A sudden chill when she glanced at her own shadow suddenly made her stop whatever she was planning.

* * *

Somewhere in...well, the middle of nowhere would be appropriate; Jade looked around at her new surroundings. It was an empty void with giant rocks floating around. Not a single living soul in sight. She held up her camera. "The demon netherworld," she narrated. "Where demon sorcerers go when they have been bad. Where no human has gone before." She pointed the camera to herself. "Until now. My ratings will be huge!" She sighed and looked around again. "If I ever find my way out of here. Not to mention, who's to stop Bai Tza from breaking her promise?"

She had just seen the duplicate of Bai Tza disappear before her eyes, which meant the real Water Demon was still out there, looking for a new underwater city without Jade around to keep her in line. Jade just had to make sure the fish wouldn't do anything. With a thought, she summoned ten Shadowkhan. "Keep the Water Demon from flooding any cities until I get out of this hole." The Shadowkhan bowed their heads and sunk into the shadows.

"Now," Jade said. "Where do I go from here?" She didn't have time to think. Two large rocks the size of meteors where heading straight for her. She jumped off the rock she was on and, to her surprise, she was floating! Then she landed on another rock. Zero G!

Her excitement became fear when she she jumped up and was about to land on another rock only to realize too late it was the sleeping form of Po Kong the Mountain Demon. Jade tumbled and rolled until she landed right on the Mountain Demon's face. She exhaled in relief when the giantess didn't wake up.

"Sister Po..." Jade recognized that eerily calm voice. It belonged to Tso Lan the Moon Demon. Thinking quick, she hid under the Mountain Demon's hair.

"Sister Po," Tso Lan called out again.

Po Kong awoke with a snort and rubbed her eyes. "Dinner time?"

"Meeting time," the Moon Demon corrected. "It appears Sister Bai has managed to elude capture."

"The child?" Po Kong questioned.

"The child."

"I see." The Mountain Demon slowly got up. "Lucky girl, that Bai Tza. She knows how much I love the taste of humans."

Jade gulped when she heard that.

"Over here," Tso Lan called out. To Jade's horror, the other demons arrived: Xiao Fung the Wind Demon, Dai Gui the Earth Demon and Tchang Zu the Thunder Demon.

"Double oh boy..." Jade whispered in fear.

* * *

"You may take your leave now, Hak Foo," Shendu ordered the last enforcer upon returning to the fish cannery.

Hak Foo bowed and was about to leave when Valmont regained control and said, "I order you to stay!"

"Leave!"

"Stay!"

"Leave!"

"Stay!"

Poor Hak Foo just watched in confusion while Valmont argued with...himself.

"Your ruffian has outlasted his usefulness to me, Valmont. Get rid of him!" Shendu said as he approached the mirror.

"And be left alone with you? I think not, Shendu!"

Suddenly, a new voice spoke. "On the contrary. You are far from alone." Instead of his reflection, Valmont saw five demon faces glaring at him.

Shendu took control and said meekly, "Brothers and sisters! So...good to...see you again!"

"Your sentiment will quickly subside, Shendu," snapped Xiao Fung.

"Once your punishment is underway," growled Dai Gui.

* * *

In the netherworld, the demons glared at Shendu's face in the small window they made. He stuttered, "P-Punishment?! Before I finish securing your release?"

"And how do you plan to do that with all our portals permanently sealed?!" demanded Po Kong.

"Yeah, how?" whispered Jade.

Shendu stammered, trying to think of some way to keep his goose from getting cooked. Then he had an idea. "Why, through my door, dear sister!"

"The eighth portal?" questioned Xiao Fung.

"It remains unsealed. All I need do is unlock it with the Pan Ku Box, a task for which I have attained the services of a mortal servant who may touch good magic."

* * *

Hak Foo was confused. Did Shendu need him or not? Make up your mind!

* * *

"What is mine is yours, demon brethren."

Suddenly, Po Kong began squirming and clawing at her shoulders. Jade jumped down to her lower back to avoid getting caught.

"What in the nether world is wrong with you, Po Kong," Tchang Zu snapped.

"Itch! Cannot reach!"

"Dai Gui! Scratch your sister's back so we may get on with this meeting."

"What?! Why me?!" Dai Gui got his answer when the Thunder Demon formed a bolt of lightning in his hand. "Fine." Grumbling, he reached for Po Kong's back.

Thinking quick, Jade scratched the green flesh she was crawling on. Po Kong let out a satisfied sigh. "It passed," she said. Dai Gui exhaled in relief.

"Now, about the eighth door, Shendu," the Moon Demon said, getting back to business. "It is the portal of _your_ banishment. Only _you_ may pass through it."

"That once was true, Tso Lan. But now that I am a spirit, my portal is vacant, waiting to be filled by others."

"You mean _another_. Only one may pass through each portal."

"That is the rule," reminded Xiao Fung.

* * *

"Do you think I have been dallying here?" Shendu said as he picked up a book. "I have discovered a spell which will keep the portal open until the last of you is freed!" What the demons didn't know was that it was nothing more than an ordinary phone book. "In fact, I was just preparing to journey to it when you called. Hak Foo. Bring me..." The Fire Demon turned and saw the Pan Ku Box being raised up by a claw on a rope. "THE PAN KU BOX!"

"Shark snatches bait!" Hak Foo shouted, grabbing onto the box along with the claw and the one holding it: Jackie Chan.

* * *

"Shark?" asked Tso Lan.

"What is he talking about?" demanded Xiao Fung.

"Jackie," whispered Jade with excitement.

Suddenly, there was a loud gong sound. "Shendu, what is happening?!" shouted Tchang Zu.

"Uh...Hak Foo always sounds the gong when we leave. Which reminds me..." Shendu grabbed a drapery and placed it over the mirror. "See you all at my portal!"

"Shendu!"

"Can he be trusted?" asked Po Kong.

"Of course not," growled Dai Gui.

"But we have no other options," Xiao Fung pointed out.

"But all of eternity to punish him should he deceive us," Tso Lan said.

"Then let us go to the eighth door," Tchang Zu said.

Jade, who was hiding under Po Kong's rock, nodded. "Yeah. Let's."

* * *

Unfortunately, Jade soon lost the demon sorcerers' trail. She jumped and landed on another rock, only to notice a pair of footprints in the dust. Footprints belonging to her sneakers. "I thought this rock looked familiar. I'm going around in circles!"

* * *

"Day number...ugh, I haven't the foggiest," Jade said to her camera a few minutes later. "The good news, the demons have left to find the eighth portal. The bad news, I lost their trail. Jackie, Tohru, Uncle...I may never see you again, but in case you ever find this footage, edit this mushy part out before you sell it to a TV show. Just want to let you all know I miss you. Even miss Uncle's garlic breath."

"Jade!"

Jade let out a yelp and dropped the camera. Behind her was an apparition of Uncle's head. "Uncle? How did you-"

"Not important. And garlic is good for you! Are you okay?"

"Tch. Just lost."

"Listen closely," Uncle said. "We are trying to find the eighth door."

Jade's eyes widened. "Shendu's door!"

"You know about that?"

"The demons are looking for it too! Shendu told them he's going to open it up so they can all break out!"

Uncle gasped. "Shendu deceives them! Only one being can now exit through that portal. And that being must be you."

"So how do I find the portal, Uncle?"

"When I know where it is, I will lead you there myself," the old man said as he disappeared.

Jade chuckled. "Go Uncle."

Suddenly, he reappeared. "One more thing! I cannot know where it is unless I know how the Pan Ku box works. Jackie said you were good with puzzles."

Useless old man, Jade thought. Then she tried to think of how the box could work. Then she remembered the symbols on it. "Those little lines on the Pan Ku Box!"

"The trigrams?"

"Yeah, those! Tell Jackie the trigrams must be the key!"

"I will do that Jade!" Uncle said as he disappeared again.

Jade's eyes flashed red. "I hope Bai Tza and Hsi Wu haven't done anything stupid while I was gone." It was then she realized something was missing when she put her hands in her sweater's pockets. "Where's my camera?" She got the answer when it dropped from the sky and landed at her feet. "Oh. Thanks."

"You're welcome," growled a voice she recognized as Tchang Tzu.

Jade slowly looked up to see five demon sorcerers looking down at her. "Well, well, well. It's Jackie Chan's little niece," Tso Lan said.

Po Kong licked her lips. "Mmm! Yummy!"

Suddenly, Uncle's head's ghost reappeared. He gasped silently. Then Jade had an idea. "Uh, if you think you're all getting out, well, I hate to break it to ya but Shendu's lying." The demons gasped and grumbled. Uncle smirked. Jade gave him a wink as he vanished. "Only one of you can go through the portal. End of story."

"How do you know," demanded Dai Gui.

"Uncle told me."

"The chi wizard," hissed Tchang Zu.

"So Shendu did deceive us," said Tso Lan.

"There's a surprise," snarked Xiao Fung.

"So, uh," Jade said, folding her arms. "Which one of you is it going to be?"

"Surely there must be a civil way to resolve this," Xiao Fung said.

"Like what? Alphabetical order?" Tso Lan sarcastically asked.

Suddenly, a door appeared out of nowhere and a spectral serpent with a crocodilian head burst through. Shendu?! Jackie must have removed him from Valmont! "Uh," he said sheepishly. "Brothers and sisters!"

"The portal!" shouted Tso Lan.

"Every demon for himself!" shouted Dai Gui.

The demons began fighting over who will get through first. Tchang Zu zapped Xia Fung but but pushed away by Po Kong. Before she could fly through the portal, Tso Lan grabbed her with his anti-gravity powers. "Age before beauty," he said as he threw her into Dai Gui. Before he could go through the portal, something snagged his robes. He looked down to see a shadowy tendril holding onto him.

"Oh boys!" There was Jade, inches from the door. "One goes through, that's the rule." She blew a kiss and hopped through.

"NO!" the demons shouted.

* * *

Jade jumped through the portal and found herself right outside the entrance to...Hong Kong Moose World?! "Jade!" Jackie, Tohru and Uncle ran up to her and Jackie scooped her in his arms.

"Did you miss me?" she asked him.

"Not at all."

* * *

Back in the nether world, Shendu cowered before the demons. "That is number eight," growled Dai Gui.

"Which would make us fresh out of portals," Tso Lan said.

Shendu was in for it now. "Perhaps we seek a tear in the space-time continuum?"

* * *

"All eight portals are finally sealed. Forever," Uncle said. As if to prove it, the Pan Ku Box stopped glowing. It was now nothing more than a paperweight.

Valmont, who had been freed from his possession, was cheering and dancing. "Whoopee! He's gone! Gone, gone, gone!" He tore off his robes, revealing his green business suit underneath and resumed dancing. "I've got my body back! La-de-da-de-da-de-da! Boom shakalakalaka boom shakalakaka!"

At that moment, an employee of the park, garbed in his Marlin Moose costume, opened the gates. He was surprised to see visitors this early.

Jade's eyes widened. "Can we, Jackie?" Jackie nodded. After all that has happened, she deserved an award.

"Uh," the mascot said. "Uh, we're not really...you're kind of early, but..." He couldn't say no to those eager eyes. "Aw..." He put the mask on and said in a goofy voice, "Hyuck! Welcome to Moose World!"

"Through the portal we go," Jackie said.

"Yipee!" Jade said as she ran through the gates. Jackie, Uncle and Tohru followed her in.

"He's gone," Valmont sang. "I got my body back! Yipee!"


End file.
